Hershey Leadership Shuffle: Archambault and Villasenor To Lead Confection and Salty Snacks, CEO Buck To Exit
The Hershey Company has named Andrew Archambault president of its U.S. confection business and Veronica Villasenor president of its salty snacks division.
Archambault will be tasked with overseeing brands such as Reese's and Jolly Rancher. He takes over for Michael Del Pozzo, who departed the company on December 12 after just a few months in the role.
Archambault joined the Hershey Company from Keurig Dr Pepper, where he’s spent the last seven years in various leadership roles, including SVP of commercial strategy, chief customer officer, and president of the beverage concentrate and U.S. beverage businesses. During his time with the company, he helped evolve brands such as Dr Pepper, Canada Dry, Core Water, and Motts. Prior to that, he held various leadership roles across corporate, customer, and sales teams at The Nature's Bounty, Co., Bacardi USA, and The Coca-Cola Company.
More About Villasenor
Villasenor was promoted to her role, having been with the company for 22 years in a series of brand growth and marketing positions. She will be tasked with leading commercial functions for Hershey’s salty snacks division, overseeing strategy, marketing, and innovation, along with commercial and sales planning, category management, and private label, according to her LinkedIn.
She was previously VP of salty snacks and brings experience in management, marketing, and innovation from across Hershey's three business units: Salty Snacks, Confection, and International.
She replaces Kristen Riggs, who is leaving the company after 20 years to pursue new opportunities.
Also read: Hershey’s New CIO on Building IT Curiosity
Hershey’s Leadership Shuffle
The Hershey Company is undergoing a series of leadership changes. Most notably, president and CEO Michele Buck recently announced she would be retiring effective June 30, 2026. Buck has been with the company for 20 years, starting at Hershey as SVP of marketing and SVP global chief marketing officer in 2005. She also has a CPG background with companies such as Kraft Foods, Nabisco, and Frito-Lay, according to her LinkedIn.
The company has created a special committee to oversee the search for its next CEO, considering both external and internal candidates. Buck will serve in the role until a replacement is found.
Buck said Archambault was brought in for his experience in transforming complex consumer brand portfolios through deep commercial expertise and a customer-centric approach. "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,” she said.
Both Archambault and Villasenor take on the new roles Feb. 3 and join the company’s executive committee.
Hear More From Hershey
Jens Taylor, senior director of software engineering and strategy at The Hershey Company, joins the “Maximizing AI Success: Proving ROI and Securing Buy-In for High-Stakes Investments” panel discussion at Analytics Unite this April to explore how AI projects can reach success and scalability if IT leaders can prove the value of their analytics investments, even in complex environments.
