Damien Atkins will become senior vice president, general counsel and secretary for The Hershey Company on August 13.
In his new role, Atkins will lead the Hershey, Pennsylvania-based confectionery company’s legal, government relations and corporate secretary functions. He will report directly to president and CEO Michele Buck, and also serve as a member of the company’s executive committee.
The company’s previous general counsel was Leslie Turner, who retired in March, according to a spokesperson.
Atkins most recently served as general counsel and corporate secretary for Panasonic Corporation of North America. In that role, he managed the company’s litigation portfolio. He also led a global legal team in the $1 billion acquisition of the Hussmann Corporation in 2016 and redesigned the company’s global compliance program, increasing employee engagement.
Before Panasonic, Atkins was senior vice president, deputy general counsel and corporate and chief compliance officer with AOL. His work included leading a team that managed the company’s spin‐off from Time Warner.
‘Damien is a thoughtful and inspiring leader who has a strong record of success throughout his legal career,’ Buck says in a statement. ‘He is business-focused and knows how a legal function can support a company’s strategic objectives and positively impact business results. He will be a terrific addition to our executive team.’
Ben Maiden
Ben Maiden is the editor-at-large of Governance Intelligence, an IR Media publication, having joined the company in December 2016. He is based in New York. Ben was previously managing editor of Compliance Reporter, covering regulatory and compliance...
