Former PepsiCo Exec Leaves Hershey Co. After Only Three Months Leading U.S. Confection

Dec. 10, 2024

Michael Del Pozzo will depart his role as president, U.S. Confection, for Hershey and return to PepsiCo to fill an undisclosed role.

Andy Hanacek

The Hershey Co. announced that Michael Del Pozzo, president, U.S. Confection, will leave the company effective Dec. 12, 2024, and return to PepsiCo — the company from which he departed to join Hershey just three months ago.

Michele Buck, president and CEO of The Hershey Co., will assume U.S. Confection leadership on an interim basis while the company looks for a successor to Del Pozzo. Del Pozzo had worked his entire career at PepsiCo before joining the Hershey team in September 2024. His new role at PepsiCo has yet to be disclosed at presstime.

The announcement comes one day after rumors surfaced of Mondelēz International’s growing interest in attempting to acquire The Hershey Co., after having made an offer that was rejected in 2016.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.