Rick Lenny is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Hershey Company, the leading manufacturer of quality confectionery and snack products. Prior to joining Hershey in March, 2001, Rick was President, Nabisco Biscuit Company. Following Kraft's acquisition of Nabisco in 2000, Rick was Group Vice President of Kraft Foods and President, Nabisco Biscuit and Snacks.  In this position, he was responsible for Kraft Foods' North American biscuit, snack nuts and confection businesses.
 
Rick joined Nabisco in 1998 from the Pillsbury Company where he was President of Pillsbury, North America. Prior to this, he spent 18 years at Kraft Foods, Inc., where he held a number of senior marketing and sales positions.
 
He is a graduate of Northwestern University's J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management with an MBA, with honors, in marketing and finance, and holds a bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from Georgia State University.
 
Rick serves on the Board of Directors of McDonald's Corporation. He also is the Chairman of the Board of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and chairs its Executive Committee. He's a member of the Board of Directors of the Hershey Trust Company; the Board of Managers of the Milton Hershey School; the Board of Trustees of the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society; the Alumni Advisory Board of Northwestern's Kellogg Graduate School of Management; the Board of Trustees of Georgia State University, and the Board of Advisors of the Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University. 
 
In July, 2006, SUPERMARKET NEWS named Rick to its "Power 50 - Fifty People Who Drive The Food Industry."  In February, 2006, INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR Magazine named Rick one of the "Best CEOs in America" in the food category. He was awarded Georgia State University's 2005 Alumni Achievement Award. In May, 2005, FOOD PROCESSING MAGAZINE named Rick one of their 11 most influential people in the food industry. In March 2005, BARRON'S named him one of the 30 "World's Most Respected CEOs." And, for 2004, he was named BRANDWEEK'S "Marketer of the Year."