POWERHOUSE WOMEN
IN FRANCHISING
operates more than 3,600 restaurants in 18
countries under the Applebee’s and IHOP
brands, with more than 400 independent
franchisees and 200,000 employees.
Stewart is a founding member of the
Women’s Foodservice Forum, an industry
organization dedicated to the development
and advancement of women—an important cause to her. When reflecting on her
own career, she acknowledges there was
“a certain amount of stereotyping,” but
adds “success depends on having the most
capable person in every position.”
Stewart believes women can rise to the
top by believing in themselves, always improving, listening, guided by a set of values, being inclusive, and being dedicated
to learning every day. “Leadership is blind
to race, age, sex, and religion. If you are
capable, and you help your people develop,
you will not only be seen as a leader… you
really will be a leader.”
How did you rise to the top? Determination, hard work, and always improving.
I’ve learned a lot from watching people
succeed, and even more from watching
people fail. At DineEquity, we have an
incredible team of passionate, bright leaders who are all driven to success. The way
they succeed, and what propelled me to my
position, is a core set of values—personal
and business—that inform every decision
and every action on a daily basis. Without
those values, I don’t believe I’d be where I
am today, and I don’t believe Dine would
be the only company in the restaurant
industry with two number-one brands.
What did your career path look like?
My very first experience in the restaurant
industry was a job as a server at my local
IHOP during high school, which began
a lifelong love affair with the restaurant
industry. I found it fun, exciting, and extremely rewarding to be able to be part of
a team providing so many people with a
warm, hospitable and enjoyable place they
could come to find good service and good
food. And all these years later, I still do.
One of the main elements that I liked then,
and I love now, is the daily feedback from
guests, our franchisees, and team members.
After college, I worked my way through
virtually every department and function in
the industry, starting in marketing, then
operations and restaurant management,
general management, and more for some
of the strongest brands in the business.
Was becoming a CEO/president always part of your plan? I always knew
I wanted to be a leader, to be accountable.
My father used to tell stories about how
I’d organize the kids on the block, so it is
somewhat a part of my DNA. Loving this
industry as I do, I could make a valuable
contribution toward leading a company
to fulfill the very best it has to offer. But
I also realized I had to prepare and work
at learning everything I needed to know.
That’s why, after many years as a marketing executive, I left and took a job as a
general manager in a restaurant so I could
learn the operations side of the business.
Admittedly and as full disclosure, I was
on the fast-track program at the time. In
retrospect, while a bit of a risk and maybe
not logical to some as a career move, it was
invaluable to me.
Did you have a mission statement
for your business life? While I can’t
say that I have a specific mission statement, I definitely have had a number of
statements, goals, and values that guide
my decision-making and how I go about
my business on a daily basis. Chief among
these is a set of what I call “life goals.”
Since the start of my career, I’ve defined,
recorded, and referred to a set of goals on
a yearly basis. These haven’t always been
the same, as they have evolved along with
my career. Additionally, I have a core set
of values that are important to me, and
even more importantly, that are in line
with the values we have at DineEquity
and our brands. From a “mission” perspective, it all has to do with the guest.
We want to provide every guest, every
day (nearly 2 mi