“Stick To Your Core Values” Advises Wendy’s Former CFO

While operating under intense media scrutiny and the threat of a hostile takeover, during the company’s recent sale to the former Triac Cos, now Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, Inc. Kerrii Anderson kept the focus of Wendy’s International on strategy, culture, and value creation, said Anderson, former CFO.

“For me strategy is critical,” she said during the first talk of the 2008-09 Distinguished Speaker Series, sponsored by the student-led Graduate Business Council, at Harper Center on October 7. “You must develop a strategic vision or plan for the organization and execute it.”

Even during the most difficult times of the four-year struggle, Anderson focused on the core values of Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas, she said. “One of his most famous sayings was, ‘Do the right thing,’” Anderson said. “Through it all, as hard as it was, when you’ve got someone sitting next to you who’s going to take your job in five months, you’ve got to do the right thing, because you owe it to your constituents, your employees, to make sure things go well when decisions are made.”

While Anderson was CFO, Wendy’s increased its stock price from $18.81 a share with a total value of $2.3 billion in September 2000 to $61 a share with a total value of $7 billion in April 2006, she said. By spinning off Canadian chain Tim Hortons as CEO, Anderson left the two companies with a combined value of $7.7 billion and combined stock values of $59.18 when Wendy’s sale was completed September 29, she said.

“In the tenure of eight years, I watched this company grow in value for its shareholders 302 percent,” Anderson said. “Even during a short period of time as CEO, I watched it increase 3 percent when the market and S & P was going down about 6 percent. As I say to people, ‘I’m sure there are lots of stories that will be written about Wendy’s, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.’”

The key traits leaders must possess are passion, vision, the ability to communicate, and the ability to embrace change, she said. “Those are the four that have really assisted me in being successful in my career,” Anderson said. “You’ve got to embrace continuous learning. You’ll get your degree and think you will never learn again, but the truth is, all you’re doing here today is learning how to learn and learning how to apply whatever your skill set is to whatever situation you may face.”

The student-led GBC invited Anderson to kick off the 2007-08 Distinguished Speaker Series because her role in the story of Wendy’s proxy battle was fascinating, said Scott Hall, chairman of the series. “I think what students really value is hearing from someone who actually did it who talks about what it takes to be a CEO,” Hall said. “She boiled down the four leadership traits. You can pick up the business acumen elsewhere, but students want to know how to pick up the skill set to execute to be the best in their jobs.”

— Phil Rockrohr