Hershey Names New CFO as It Transforms Its Business

          Hershey's, in a bid to change their branding from just a chocolate company to something bigger, names Steve Voskuil as the new Senior Vice President and Chief Financial officer, effective May 13th. He hails from a background not related to food as he used to be part of Avanos Medical which is a spin off from Kimberly-Clark Corp. which he oversaw the spin off of. Hershey's is at a good place to expand beyond its core remit. The company's leverage which is measured by "the ratio of net debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization" is currently report to be at a "relatively low at 2.3 times, compared with the industry average of above 3.0 times." Because Mr. Voskuil oversaw the sale of Avanos' surgical and infection-prevention business, he is used to dealing with "large and complex transactions" as well as "exposure to fluctuating costs." Directors who appointed him believe this will be a good move for Hershey's "where he will need to manage and hedge raw material costs for commodities such as cocoa and sugar."
          For Hershey's this is seen as a completely new move as they are hiring a person for a major position that is not related to the food industry. In this way, they are promoting their brand as being universal and open to collaboration. This is a smart move for them as they are in the process of transforming themselves. This relates back to the general populace as a whole as it demonstrates that no single thing defines us. It is always possible to move outside of what we study and what we do the majority of our life and to try new things.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/hershey-names-new-cfo-as-it-transforms-its-business-11555616136