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The Hershey Company

Confectionery and snackingFounded 1894
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Leadership History

Hershey: CEO History

4 leaders · 2007 to present

Who is the CEO of Hershey?

Kirk Tanner is the CEO of Hershey, in the role since 2025. The first chief executive was David J. West, from 2007.

Current CEO
Kirk Tanner (since 2025)
First CEO
David J. West (2007)
Leaders documented
4
Founded
1894
NameRoleFromToYears in role
Kirk TannerChief Executive Officer2025Present1
Michele BuckFormer Chief Executive Officer201720258
John P. BilbreyPresident and CEO201120176
David J. WestPresident and CEO200720114
Who was CEO of Hershey before Kirk Tanner?
Michele Buck was CEO of Hershey from 2017 to 2025, before Kirk Tanner took over in 2025.

Company Overview

The Hershey Company is the largest U.S. confectionery maker and is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the town Milton Hershey built around his factory. Unlike Mars, Mondelez or Nestle, it earns most of its revenue in North America and focuses on confection and snacks. It had 19,595 employees at the end of 2025 (17,550 full-time and 2,045 part-time). Its brands include Reese's, Hershey's, Kisses, Kit Kat (U.S.), Twizzlers, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop, Dot's, Pirate's Booty and LesserEvil.

Kirk Tanner

Chief Executive Officer

2025 – Present

1 year (current)

Key Decisions & Impact

Taking the helm as CEO in August 2025, Kirk Tanner arrived with decades of high-level consumer packaged goods experience, having previously served in top executive roles at PepsiCo and as CEO of Wendy's. His primary strategic mandate is to handle the company through an era of supply chain volatility and structural inflation in core commodity markets, specifically the skyrocketing global price of raw cocoa. He has mandated a renewed, intense focus on rapid product innovation, digital consumer engagement, and operational efficiency across the company's global manufacturing footprint. His appointment marks a deliberate strategic shift toward external, specialized logistics expertise.

Legacy

While his tenure is just beginning Tanner is tasked with proving that Hershey's recent transition into a diversified 'snacking leader' can be integrated and scaled globally. His extensive background in complex beverage and fast-food logistics is expected to provide the exact operational rigor necessary to protect the company's historic profit margins during turbulent economic conditions.

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Michele Buck

Former Chief Executive Officer

2017 – 2025

8 years

Key Decisions & Impact

As the first female CEO in the company's history, Michele Buck executed a fundamental, transformative shift in corporate strategy during her eight-year tenure. She accurately recognized that the traditional chocolate market was maturing and pivoted the company into the broader, faster-growing 'better-for-you' snacking category. Her most consequential decisions involved orchestrating a series of multi-billion dollar acquisitions, purchasing high-profile brands like Amplify Snack Brands (SkinnyPop) and Dot's Pretzels. Furthermore, she championed the 'ONE Hershey' operating model, streamlining internal corporate bureaucracy and heavily promoting a culture of inclusive leadership. She modernized the company's internal culture, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Legacy

Buck is universally credited with modernizing the historic chocolate company, transforming it into a diversified, resilient snacking empire capable of sustaining long-term growth. Her strategic acquisitions altered the company's financial profile, providing crucial insulation against the inherent volatility of the global cocoa commodity market.

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John P. Bilbrey

President and CEO

2011 – 2017

6 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Bilbrey became chief executive in 2011 and oversaw the purchase of Brookside and other snack brands, as Hershey broadened beyond chocolate.

Legacy

He retired in 2017 and Michele Buck succeeded him.

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David J. West

President and CEO

2007 – 2011

4 years

Key Decisions & Impact

West became chief executive in 2007 and led Hershey through the cocoa-price increases and the global financial crisis.

Legacy

He left in 2011 and John Bilbrey succeeded him.

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Challenges & Strategic Context

Hershey's biggest challenge is cocoa cost volatility. Cocoa futures topped $12,000 per tonne in late 2024, and 2025 net income fell about 60% even as net sales grew. Other pressures include tariffs, consumer pushback on higher candy prices, GLP-1 weight-loss drugs changing snacking habits, supply-chain costs in salty snacks, and private-label and Mars competition.

Hershey CEO and Leadership FAQ

Who have been the primary Chief Executive Officers and leaders of The Hershey Company?

Key leaders in Hershey's history include founder Milton S. Hershey, William F.R. Murrie (early president), Harold Mohler, Richard Zimmerman (who acquired Cadbury's U.S. business in 1988), Kenneth Wolfe, Richard Lenny (2001-2007), David West (2007-2011), John Bilbrey (2011-2017), Michele Buck (2017-2025) and Kirk Tanner (since August 2025).

Who is the current CEO of Hershey?

Kirk Tanner has been President and CEO of The Hershey Company since August 18, 2025. He previously served as CEO of Wendy's and spent more than 30 years at PepsiCo, including as CEO of PepsiCo Beverages North America.

What major transformations did Michele Buck achieve as CEO of Hershey from 2017 to 2025?

Michele Buck turned Hershey into a sweet-and-salty snacking company, acquiring Amplify Snack Brands (SkinnyPop), Pirate's Booty, ONE Brands, Lily's and Dot's Pretzels. Net sales rose from about $7.5 billion in 2017 to $11.2 billion in 2024, and the company agreed to buy LesserEvil before she handed over to Kirk Tanner.

What was the well-known leadership of founder Milton S. Hershey (1894-1945)?

Milton S. Hershey was an industrial clever and humanitarian who pioneered the mass production of affordable milk chocolate, built the utopian town of Hershey for his workers, founded the Milton Hershey School for orphaned boys, and bequeathed his entire personal fortune to the School Trust in 1918.

What major milestones were achieved under John Bilbrey's tenure as CEO (2011-2017)?

John Bilbrey expanded Hershey's core chocolate franchises, acquired artisanal jerky brand KRAVE and barkTHINS, modernized international operations in Mexico and Brazil, built the Cocoa For Good sustainability framework, and successfully rejected an unsolicited $23 billion takeover bid from Mondelez in 2016.

What background and executive experience did Michele Buck have before becoming CEO?

Michele Buck brought over 25 years of consumer packaged goods leadership from Kraft Foods, Frito-Lay, and Golden Grain, joining Hershey in 2005. She served as Chief Growth Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, and Chief Operating Officer before being appointed CEO in 2017.

What unique corporate governance relationship exists between Hershey's CEO and the Hershey Trust?

Hershey's CEO and Board of Directors collaborate closely with the Board of Managers of the Milton Hershey School Trust, maintaining absolute alignment on sustainable dividend generation, long-term capital preservation, and community stewardship.

What executive compensation philosophy guides The Hershey Company?

Hershey aligns executive pay with net sales growth, adjusted operating profit margin expansion, free cash flow generation, Return on Invested Capital (ROIC), and corporate sustainability and diversity milestones.

What are Kirk Tanner's priorities as Hershey CEO?

Tanner's priorities for 2026 are top-line growth, margin and earnings recovery after the cocoa shock, and building organizational capabilities under the ONE Hershey strategy, including more investment in brands, merchandising and innovation.

Who is the CEO of Hershey?

Michele Buck serves as CEO. Taking over in 2017, she realized that Americans were slowly eating less sugar but eating vastly more savory snacks. She executed a massive corporate pivot, spending billions of dollars to transform Hershey from a pure chocolate company into a broad snacking empire.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.