Hershey names chief technology officer to advance analytics and automation

The Hershey Company announced Deepak Bhatia as its first chief technology officer and newest member of its executive committee. According to the announcement, 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 expertise in developing cutting-edge automated systems, supply chain planning, optimization 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," Michele Buck, The Hershey Company president and chief executive officer, said in the announcement. "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."

During Bhatia’s 12-year tenure at Amazon in supply chain optimization, he led the development of large-scale automated decision-making systems dealing with some of the most computationally and mathematically challenging problems in large complex supply chains, bringing applied science, software engineering and product management together.  Prior to Amazon, Bhatia spent 11 years at Applied Materials, where, in addition to supply chain optimization, he also built expertise in predictive business analytics to inform product management and innovation strategies.

"I am honored and humbled to be joining Hershey, a company with an incredible legacy and culture," Bhatia said in the announcement. "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."

Bhatia holds a M.S. in management science and engineering from Stanford University and an M.S. in aeronautics and astronautics engineering from Purdue University.