Hershey appoints new presidents of confection and salty divisions
The Hershey Company announced that Andrew Archambault has been named president, U.S. confection, and Veronica Villasenor has been named president, salty snacks.
Both appointments are effective February 3, 2025.
Archambault, who joins Hershey from Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP), and Villasenor, who is a Hershey veteran of 22 years, will be part of Hershey's executive committee and will work closely with the team to continue advancing the company's priorities and play key company-wide leadership roles. Villasenor succeeds Kristen Riggs, who is leaving Hershey after 20 years to pursue other opportunities.
"Andrew is a proven executive who has transformed complex consumer brand portfolios through his deep commercial expertise and customer-centric approach," said Michele Buck, The Hershey Company president and chief executive officer. "I am very excited to pair this announcement with an internal promotion, welcoming Vero as our new president of salty snacks. Vero's extensive experience across the Hershey business will be key to the continued success of our Salty business. I am confident that Andrew and Vero are the right leaders to advance our leading snacking powerhouse vision and deliver on our next phase of growth. I also want to thank Kristen for her many valuable contributions during her long tenure at Hershey, including her leadership integrating Dot's and Pretzel's, Inc. and setting up the commercial foundation to scale our salty snacks business. I wish her the very best in all her future endeavors."
Archambault will oversee a portfolio of brands including Hershey's, Reese's and Jolly Rancher. He brings a wealth of experience from KDP where he was instrumental in evolving well-known brands, including Dr Pepper, Canada Dry, Core Water and Motts.
"It is an honor to join Hershey during a period of strategic transformation," said Archambault. "I, like so many others, am inspired by this iconic company and its beloved brands and look forward to working with the incredible Hershey team to build for the future as we take this business to the next level of growth."
Villasenor previously served as vice-president of salty snacks, and has held roles in the company at salty snacks, confection and international.
"I am honored to step into this new role and continue building our portfolio and capabilities to deliver accelerated growth with our salty snacks team," said Villasenor. "Throughout my career at Hershey, I have been deeply committed to delivering for our customers, delighting our consumers and developing our people. I'm excited to continue this journey."
Michele Buck informs Board of approaching retirement
The Hershey Company also announced that Michele Buck, chairman of the Board of Directors, president and chief executive officer, has informed the Board of her intention to retire from the company effective June 30, 2026.
Buck intends to serve in her existing roles until her successor is appointed, at which time she plans to resign from the Board and transition to a senior advisor role until her retirement.
The Board has appointed a special committee to direct the search for the next CEO and will consider external and internal candidates, in partnership with a nationally recognized search firm.
"It has been the pinnacle of my career to lead Hershey, a truly one-of-a-kind company. Our team has created one of the strongest and most recognizable snacking portfolios in the industry and I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished," said Buck. "I am a firm believer that our long-term success is rooted in Hershey culture – the spirit of innovation has kept us at the forefront of new and changing trends to best serve our customers and consumers, made us a stronger partner for our communities and contributed to significant value creation for our shareholders. This year will be my 20th at Hershey and as we embark on a new year, I believe now is the right time to formally activate our succession planning and begin the transition to Hershey's next leader."
Victor Crawford, lead independent director of the Board, said, "The Board is grateful for Michele's vision and transformational leadership, not only over the past eight years as our CEO but for the past two decades. Michele has made innumerable marks on Hershey, including serving as the key architect of the company's expansion into broader snacking categories, driving sustainable international growth and building advanced capabilities and growth platforms to evolve Hershey into a stronger and more diversified business. Succession planning is a matter the Board and Michele have been discussing and with Michele's continued guidance and leadership, we are confident we will execute a seamless transition."
