The Hershey Company Creates First CTO, Names Deepak Bhatia to the Role

The Hershey Company is looking to dive deeper into analytics and automation, introducing its first-ever chief technology officer to its executive leadership team.

Deepak Bhatia will be taking on the role, overseeing the company’s global tech strategy, and focusing on digital capabilities and IT architecture. He also joins the company’s Executive Committee. 

Bhatia joins Hershey from Amazon, where he was previously VP of supply chain optimization. His deep knowledge of automation, optimization, AI and predictive analytics, and supply chain planning will help set the stage for upcoming analytics and IT growth. 

A Look Back at Amazon

Bhatia spent 12 years with the company, focusing on supply chain optimization. During his tenure, he helped develop large-scale automated decision-making systems able to solve complex computational and math challenges across large, intricate supply chains. There, departments cohesively worked together to merge applied science, software engineering, and product management. 

Prior to Amazon, Bhatia helped introduce predictive business analytics to be leveraged within product management and innovation at semiconductor and material engineering company Applied Materials.

Michele Buck, The Hershey Company president and CEO, pointed in a statement to Bhatia's expertise in end-to-end data, analytics, and automation — skills that will be needed to “elevate our employee experience, create commercial value, and advance our leading snacking powerhouse vision."

She added that the company is investing in its digital capabilities in order to strengthen Hershey’s supply chain and scale for growth. 

Bhatia said that the industry is currently experiencing “unprecedented technological innovation,” and looks forward to spearheading the development and execution of a tech-driven transformation. 

[More on executing transformations: Church & Dwight Global CIO Kevin Gokey on Redefining Success With New Innovation Metrics]

The new role will include heavy lifts in the supply chain space at Hershey, which has already seen changes this year. Recent manufacturing acquisitions from Weaver popcorn are preparing the company to strengthen its supply chain capabilities, building out its supplier and manufacturer network. 

While the company plans to bolster its efforts in analytics, the Hershey Company has long been using data. Last year, the company started testing pricing strategies by leveraging analytics, leaning on consumer data to better serve price-sensitive consumers.

Lynn Hemans, VP of consumer intelligence and analytics, told CGT at the time that it was including deep-dive quantitative efforts to identify whitespace and ensure qualitative co-creation with consumers.

And in 2020, during the holiday Easter season, the company pivoted away from egg hunts and toward Easter baskets for its marketing in order to meet consumers searching for home-centered celebrations for their kids.