Michele Buck Announces Hershey Executive Team HE

HERSHEY, Pa., Feb. 23, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY ) today announced the new executive leadership team that incoming President and CEO Michele Buck has chosen to lead the organization into the next phase of its growth and success. The new team balances continuity in key positions through exceptional leaders from within the company and world-class talent from outside of Hershey. 

“Hershey is an innovative snacking leader with its number one market share in U.S. confection and increasing breadth across U.S. snacking,” said Buck. “I’m extremely confident in the individuals who will lead our organization as we delight our customers and consumers with innovation and news in the marketplace and strive to deliver leading sales growth and margins across the food industry. This is a great team, with a range of experiences, expertise and backgrounds to accelerate our innovation, execute with excellence, instill a commercial mindset in all we do, and inspire our remarkable employees to achieve our goals.” 

The following eight leaders will comprise Hershey’s new executive leadership team, effective March 1, unless otherwise noted: 

Todd Tillemans, President, U.S. – Tillemans will join Hershey on April 3 to lead the company's flagship U.S. business including core confection, its expanding portfolio across snacking, and its sales and go-to-market teams. Tillemans joins the company from Unilever, where he worked for more than 23 years. He has held multiple leadership positions, including leading Unilever’s skin care business in Europe and Russia, its personal care business in the United States, and most recently serving as President, Customer Development U.S. 

Steven Schiller, President, International – Schiller, currently President, China & Asia is named President, International.  He will continue to oversee the China and Asia markets and will assume responsibility for the Americas region, India and Europe, Middle-East, and Africa. 

Terry O’Day, Senior Vice President, Chief Product Supply and Technology Officer – O’Day, currently Chief Supply Chain Officer, will continue to oversee the company's supply chain organization and will assume responsibility for Hershey’s productivity, information technology and enterprise connectivity initiatives. 

In connection with these announcements, Chief Knowledge and Technology Officer Waheed Zaman will retire from the company effective March 31. 

The Hershey Company has undertaken a search for a Chief Growth Officer who will lead Hershey’s Insights and Analytics, Strategy, marketing excellence functions, Innovation, Research and Development, Mergers and Acquisitions and The Hershey Experience. The company has identified an external candidate who is expected to join the team this spring.  

Continuing in their roles are: 

• Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Patricia Little  
• Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Leslie Turner 
• Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Kevin Walling 
• Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Mike Wege 

“These appointments reaffirm our commitment to creating opportunities for remarkable people to grow within the company and to attracting world-class talent from outside of Hershey. On behalf of the Board of Directors and management, I would like to thank Waheed Zaman for his work over the past four years to advance our technology, data and analytics capabilities,” Buck said.

An infographic accompanying this announcement is available at  http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/Attachm...90e7063f2b   

Safe Harbor Statement This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Many of these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "intend," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "should," "planned," "projected," "estimated," and "potential," among others. These statements are made based upon current expectations that are subject to risk and uncertainty. Because actual results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements when deciding whether to buy, sell or hold the company's securities. Factors that could cause results to differ materially include, but are not limited to: issues or concerns related to the quality and safety of our products, ingredients or packaging; changes in raw material and other costs, along with the availability of adequate supplies of raw materials; selling price increases, including volume declines associated with pricing elasticity; market demand for our new and existing products; increased marketplace competition; disruption to our manufacturing operations or supply chain; failure to successfully execute and integrate acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures; changes in governmental laws and regulations, including taxes; political, economic, and/or financial market conditions; risks and uncertainties related to our international operations; disruptions, failures or security breaches of our information technology infrastructure; our ability to hire, engage and retain a talented global workforce; our ability to realize expected cost savings and operating efficiencies associated with strategic initiatives or restructuring programs; and such other matters as discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. All information in this press release is as of February 23, 2017. The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the company's expectations.

About The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company, headquartered in Hershey, Pa., is a global confectionery leader known for bringing goodness to the world through its chocolate, sweets, mints and other great-tasting snacks. Hershey has approximately 18,000 employees around the world who work every day to deliver delicious, quality products. The company has more than 80 brands around the world that drive more than $7.4 billion in annual revenues, including such iconic brand names as Hershey's , Reese's , Hershey's Kisses , Jolly Rancher , Ice Breakers and Brookside . Building on its core business, Hershey is expanding its portfolio to include a broader range of delicious snacks. The company remains focused on growing its presence in key international markets while continuing to extend its competitive advantage in North America.

At Hershey, goodness has always been about more than delicious products. For more than 120 years, Hershey has been committed to operating fairly, ethically and sustainably. Hershey founder, Milton Hershey, created the Milton Hershey School in 1909 and since then the company has focused on giving underserved children the skills and support they need to be successful. Today, the company continues this social purpose through 'Nourishing Minds,' a global initiative that provides basic nutrition to help children learn and grow. From neighborhoods across the United States to the streets of Shanghai and Mumbai and villages of West Africa, our goal is to nourish one million minds by 2020.

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Media Contact: Leigh Horner, 717-508-1247 Financial Contact: Mark Pogharian, 717-534-7556