Jean M. Birch Appointed As President Of Ihop Restaurants Effective June 22, 2009

(Wednesday, June 03, 2009) - DineEquity, Inc. (DIN), the parent company of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar and IHOP Restaurants, today announced the appointment of Jean M. Birch as president of IHOP Restaurants effective June 22, 2009. As president, Birch will lead the overall strategic direction for all functional areas of IHOP's predominantly franchised business and will be primarily responsible for providing leadership for the business and execution of its key growth strategies around brand building, operational excellence and franchise restaurant development.

Julia A. Stewart, DineEquity's chairman and chief executive officer, said, "With more than 25 years in the restaurant industry and a proven track record at a variety of leading franchising companies, Jean brings a wealth of knowledge and a valued perspective as we focus on extending IHOP's leadership position in family dining. Jean's depth of marketing, operations and franchise expertise will be a vital asset to the brand and we are pleased to welcome her to the IHOP team."
"IHOP is a leading franchise company as well as an outstanding brand, and I am excited to join the team. I look forward to working closely with our franchisees and employees to build upon the brand's success and create an insurmountable lead in the family dining category," Jean Birch commented.

Birch brings a wealth of restaurant industry experience to her new role at IHOP, including serving as president of Brinker International's Romano's Macaroni Grill where she was responsible for stabilizing and improving the operations execution of the business and creating a differentiated brand position for the $800 million largely company-operated Macaroni Grill restaurant system. Under her leadership, Macaroni Grill benefited from significantly improved guest satisfaction scores, the implementation of a robust menu development pipeline and process, reductions in hourly and management turnover, as well as the development of retail products for sale in grocery outlets.

Prior to her role at Macaroni Grill, Birch was president of Brinker International's Corner Bakery Café where she was responsible for driving consistent same-store sales growth, improving restaurant profitability, and simplifying operations for a more franchise friendly approach prior to the concept's sale in 2005. Before joining Brinker International, Birch served in various leadership positions for 12 years with Yum! Brands' Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurant systems.

Birch most recently served as an independent restaurant industry consultant working with start-up, small and mid-sized restaurant concepts on projects ranging from optimizing operations platforms and improving unit level economics to concept development and brand differentiation strategies.

Birch holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in Oriental Studies from the University of Arizona, and an Executive Masters of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.

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