Ex-Applebee’s exec was told she’d never be CEO—she bought the chain and fired her naysayer: ‘We don’t need two of us, so I’m gonna have to let you go’
Julia Stewart, a former executive at Applebee's, was denied a CEO position despite significantly improving the company's performance. She then moved to IHOP and later orchestrated the acquisition of Applebee's, subsequently firing the executive who had previously blocked her promotion. The article also briefly mentions Sara Blakely of Spanx and Frederick W. Smith of FedEx as other business leaders who overcame initial skepticism to achieve significant success. AI
