Hershey names new Corporate Senior VP and President for snacks

11/04/05 Hershey Foods Corporation has announced that Michele Buck has been named Senior Vice President of the Corporation and President of its recently formed U.S. Snacks Group. In this position, Buck will serve as an officer of the corporation and will report to Richard H. Lenny, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Buck joins Hershey from Kraft Foods, where she was Senior Vice President and General Manager, Kraft Confections. In that position, Buck had responsibility for the Kraft U.S. confections business including its LifeSavers, Altoids, CremeSavers and Toblerone brands. Her previous positions with Kraft include Vice President, Marketing - Confections; and Vice President, Marketing - Planters snack nuts. Buck has also held marketing positions with Frito-Lay and Kraft General Foods.

Buck will join Hershey in mid-April. She and her family will relocate to the Hershey area. Buck is from Central Pennsylvania and received a bachelor's degree from Shippensburg University. Buck holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina.

Hershey announced the creation of the new U.S. Snacks business group, along with a U.S. Confectionery business group, earlier this year. Both groups are supported by the company's global operations, sales and administrative capabilities. The new business groups will strengthen Hershey's leadership by capitalizing on Hershey's iconic brands, confectionery and nut expertise, and leading-edge business systems.

Hershey is building momentum in adjacent snack segments with the recent introductions of the SnackBarz line, Hershey's Smart Zone balanced nutrition bars, a line of premium cookies, and the acquisition of the Mauna Loa macadamia snack nut company.

Hershey Foods Corporation is a leading snack food company and the largest North American manufacturer of quality chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products. With revenues of over $4 billion and more than 13,000 employees worldwide, Hershey Foods markets such well-known brands as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Kit Kat, Almond Joy, Mounds, York, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, and Ice Breakers as well as innovative new products such as Swoops and Hershey's S'mores. In addition to its traditional confectionery products, Hershey Foods offers a range of products specifically developed to address the nutritional interests of today's health-conscious consumer. These products include sugar-free Hershey's, Reese's and York candies, as well as Hershey's Smart Zone bars for people seeking balanced nutrition. It also markets Hershey's cocoa, Hershey's syrup and other branded baking ingredients, toppings and beverages.

http://www.hersheyfoods.com/news/release.asp?releaseID=693238