Hershey Names David West As New CEO

HARRISBURG, Pa. The Hershey Co. board said Tuesday that another former Nabisco executive will replace Richard H. Lenny as the leader of the nation's largest candymaker.

David J. West, Hershey's coo, was named company president and a director, effectively immediately, and will become chief executive on Dec. 1, the board said in a statement. The move came a day after Lenny announced he was stepping down as chief executive following six years at Hershey.

"Dave is a very strong leader with an in-depth knowledge of all aspects of Hershey's business," company director Robert H. Campbell said in the statement.

Lenny, who was the first ceo hired from outside Hershey, will remain as chairman through the end of the year, when Campbell will take over, the company said.

Soon after Lenny left Nabisco for Hershey in 2001, he hired West to join the confectionary to come up with a marketing plan. West became Hershey's cfo in 2005 and coo in January.

The candymaker experienced setbacks during Lenny’s years at the helm. The company has not recovered from its stumble last year while attempting to put more emphasis on what they considered a “fast growing, high-margin segment”: organic and dark chocolates.

In the midst of these impediments, Lenny had sought to expand Hershey's reach with joint ventures in Asia to keep up with competitors. Additionally, Hershey announced it would close six U.S. and Canadian plants and cut more than 3,000 workers in the two countries, including 900 total at its namesake town, and shift more of its production to contractors and a new plant under construction in Mexico.

Hershey's stock fell $1.63 a share, or 3.4 percent, to $45.78 in trading Tuesday.