Hershey Foods has chosen a Kraft Foods' Nabisco executive to head the world's largest candy maker, the third Nabisco executive to be chosen to lead a major consumer-products company this year. Richard H. Lenny was named Hershey's chief executive after spending just three months as head of Kraft's Nabisco biscuit and snack business. He had been with Nabisco when it was acquired last year by Kraft Foods parent Philip Morris. In January, Nabisco Foods president Douglas R. Conant was named CEO at Campbell Soup; and Nabisco CEO James M. Kilts assumed the top job at Gillette.
President of Sargento's Food Service Division, Lawrence J. Gentine, announced three key sales & marketing executives to help reorganize that division's field sales execution structure for sharper consumer focus in 2001. Tim Ross, formerly Eastern division manager, has been promoted to director of sales for the Southeast and Western region sales teams. Bill Buranich, formerly senior national account manager, has been promoted to director of sales for the sales teams in Texas, the Plains and the Upper Midwest region. Dave Engel, formerly marketing manager, has been promoted to director of marketing, responsible for all divisional and customer marketing communications, customer programs and the Food Service Division web site content.