Hershey names general counsel

The Hershey Company has promoted James Turoff to become senior vice president, general counsel and secretary.

In his new role Turoff heads up the company's global legal, compliance and ethics, government relations, corporate security and corporate secretary teams. He reports to chair and CEO Michele Buck.

Turoff had been serving as acting general counsel since Damien Atkins, who had been senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, left the company earlier this year.

WilmerHale recently announced that Atkins has joined the law firm as a senior counsel, based in New York. WilmerHale notes Atkins’ experience in corporate governance, M&A, securities regulation, ethics and compliance, government investigations and privacy matters.

Before joining Hershey in 2018, Atkins had been general counsel of Panasonic Corp of North America since 2015. He earlier spent a decade at AOL, most recently as senior vice president, deputy general counsel and chief compliance officer.

Turoff joined Hershey in 2014 and has filled various posts in the company’s legal department. Before 2014 he was assistant general counsel for corporate and securities matters at Harsco Corporation, where he advised the board on corporate governance and executive compensation matters, among other things.

Earlier in his career, Turoff was director for corporate governance & securities and assistant secretary at The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. He began his legal career with Jones Day.

‘James brings depth of experience and has proven how to effectively work and lead across legal disciplines, balancing our enterprise ambitions with sound risk and opportunity management,’ says Buck in a statement. ‘He has risen through the legal department here at Hershey and understands the complexities and opportunities within the business.’

‘We’re delighted to have such a talented lawyer as Damien Atkins join us,’ says Susan Murley, WilmerHale's co-managing partner, in an announcement. ‘Damien has an implicit appreciation for the combination of accessibility, value and results that clients need and expect from their outside counsel.’