Hershey appoints first CTO

September 20, 2023

The Hershey Company announced the appointment of Deepak Bhatia as its first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and newest member of its Executive Committee. Bhatia will lead the company’s global technology strategy, architecting and deploying digital capabilities that are innovative, flexible and prepared to meet the changing needs of Hershey’s consumers, retail partners and employees.

Formerly the Vice President of Supply Chain Optimization Technologies at Amazon, Bhatia brings deep expertise in developing automated systems, supply chain planning, optimisation and simulation, artificial intelligence and predictive analytics.

“We are investing in our people and digital capabilities to strengthen our infrastructure and scale across our growing supply chain and business units,” said Michele Buck, President and CEO, The Hershey Company. “As we continue to double down in this area, Deepak has the expertise needed to successfully lead our technology strategy leveraging end-to-end data, analytics and automation to elevate our employee experience, create commercial value and advance our leading snacking powerhouse vision.”

“I am honoured and humbled to be joining Hershey, a company with an incredible legacy and culture,” added Deepak Bhatia, Chief Technology Officer, The Hershey Company. “We are experiencing unprecedented technological innovation, and I am thrilled to spearhead the development and execution of a technology-driven transformation that will meet and exceed the evolving needs of our consumers and customers. I look forward to shaping a future of innovation and excellence.”

During his 12-year tenure at Amazon in supply chain optimisation. Bhatia led the development of large-scale automated decisi0n-making systems dealing with some of the most computationally and mathematically challenging problems in large complex supply chains. Prior to Amazon, Bhatia spent 11 years at Applied Materials where he also built expertise in predictive business analytics to inform product management and innovation strategies.

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