‘What’s in Your Chocolate?’
HERSHEY, Pa. — The Hershey Co. has announced that marketing veteran Peter Horst will join the company as senior vice president and chief marketing officer, effective July 27.
Horst joins Hershey from Capital One Financial Corp., where he served as senior vice president of brand marketing, and prior to that, CMO for Capital One Bank.
At Capital One, Horst was behind the well-known “What’s in your wallet?” marketing campaign.
“Peter is a seasoned marketing leader who has the skills, experience and proven track record to continue to evolve our marketing organization, build our iconic brands and drive global growth for the company,” said J.P. Bilbrey, chairman and president and CEO of Hershey.
Mike Wege, former CMO, has been appointed senior vice president and chief administrative officer, and continues as a member of the company’s global leadership team. In this role, Wege will continue to lead the company’s global organizational agility and growth initiative and other strategic projects for the company.
“Mike is a highly experienced leader, and I appreciate his commitment to help position the company for future growth as we accelerate our business in new markets around the world,” Bilbrey said.
Horst is a marketing veteran with more than 25 years of experience at companies including General Mills, Verizon Business Online, Ameritrade and Capital One.
As senior vice president of brand marketing at Capital One, he supported Capital One’s diversified businesses in credit cards, branch and Internet banking, home loans, small business and personal lending, auto finance and international markets. His team was responsible for driving integrated marketing, new product development and market research.
Hershey, based in Hershey, Pa., is a global confectionery leader with more than 80 brands that drive more than $7.4 billion in annual revenues, including Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers and Brookside.