Wendy's CEO Kerrii Anderson: taking care of business

As CEO of Wendy's International, Kerrii Anderson's challenge has been to focus on running the business for the long term when the company might be sold in the near term. Under pressure from large, activist investors, the Dublin, Ohio-based fast food restaurant chain has been exploring options, including selling off the whole company, as a way to unlock value for shareholders.

"One thing I have learned -- my lessons in life -- is I can control only what I can control,"Anderson said after speaking at the W. P. Carey School's Economic Club of Phoenix, Nov. 14. "I am not going to control that [the sale decision] process. I may have input, but I'm not going to control it."

"There's no reason for me to fret and worry over it,"she said. "I'm not going to keep from moving the brand forward and doing the right thing that I know needs to be done.

That's the message she sends to the franchisees, who own and operate 80 percent of Wendy's 6,600 restaurants.