Hershey Co.appointed Kirk Tanner as CEO, and announced that he was Michele Buck’s successor, previously she was there. I’m leaving the company.
Hershey’s board of directors selected Tanner for its strong track record as a food and beverage executive with major brands such as PepsiCo. During that time he has established several senior leadership positions, including President of PepsiCo’s Global Food Services business, SVP of Fritray North American Western division, and PepsiCo’s Vice President of Sales for the UK and Ireland markets.
He eventually became CEO of PepsiCo’s North American Beverage division and led a $28 billion business in a portfolio of brands such as Pepsi, Gatorade, Mountain Dew and Pure Leaf. In that role, he oversaw portfolio optimization efforts to respond to evolving consumer changes and drive growth and profitability through brand building and customer partnerships.
Most recently, Tanner was president and CEO of Wendy’s Co., where he led brand growth, innovation and operations.
Also: Hershey hires a Chief Growth Officer
Mary Kay Haven, chairman of Hershey’s CEO Search Committee, said Tanner’s deep experience in mergers, acquisitions and innovation, combined with his background as CEO of a public company, is suited to leading the company.
“Kirk is a proven and influential leader in the food and beverage industry, with a great combination of customer and consumer passion, commercial insight and operational scale,” Haben said in a statement.
Tanner said he will remain focused on the three pillars that will encourage success when he takes on the role: understanding and joy for consumers, building strong partnerships with customers, investing in colleagues.
