July 18, 2007--At 37, Debra Sandler had grown to believe that she had her career under control. After all, she was a 13-year corporate veteran who had earned several promotions. As vice president of marketing for PepsiCo Inc.'s Tricon Restaurants International’s (now YUM! Brands) Caribbean and Latin America division, she oversaw a huge staff, controlled a multimillion-dollar budget, and spent 80% of her time traveling. “I used to joke that I lived on American Airlines in seat No. 2J,” she recalls. Then, in 1997, two events happened that would forever alter her professional and personal life.
