Hershey’s Chairman, President and CEO Announces Retirement
Michele Buck, the first female chairman, president and CEO of The Hershey Co. and a 2022 Top Women in Grocery Trailblazer winner, is stepping down after a storied CPG career. The Hershey, Pa.-based company announced that Buck is retiring and a succession plan is in place.
Buck will stay in her role until a new chief executive is named. When that happens, she will resign from her seat on the board of directors and transition to a senior advisor rule until her official retirement date of June 30, 2026.
Buck has been CEO at Hershey since 2017. Prior to that, she served in several other roles of increasing responsibility, including a tenure as COO, leading the company’s day-to-day North American operations and overseeing its business in Central and South America. Her career also includes 17 years at Kraft/Nabisco and the Frito-Lay division of PepsiCo. She earned an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"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,’ said Victor Crawford, lead independent director of the board. “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."
Buck, for her part, said that leading the legacy CPG was a career pinnacle. “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," she said. "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."
In a 2022 interview with Progressive Grocer about her Trailblazer award, Buck shared some advice for young professionals starting out in the industry. “Always be in the driver’s seat of your work and career, no matter if you are in your early, mid- or later career. At Hershey, one of our most important behaviors is 'Own It.' It’s important to own your work, your energy, your development, your career moves and perhaps, most importantly, your setbacks, because that is where you learn and grow the most — that and taking assignments that push you outside your comfort zone can be game-changing,” she advised.
As Buck prepares to leave her own top role within the company, Hershey has appointed a special committee to steer the CEO search and will work with a nationally recognized search firm, considering both internal and external candidates.
Hershey will release its fourth quarter sales and earnings report on Feb. 6.
