Steven J Hess, Dr.sc, Senior Director, Transformational Innovation R&D, The Hershey Company
Steven Hess is Senior Director, Transformational Innovation R&D for The Hershey Company. In this role, he is responsible for research, technology, and process validations across the Hershey’s product portfolio.
Steve joined Hershey in January 2002 and has held roles of increasing responsibility in the R&D organization. His previous roles at Hershey spanned upstream technology development, chocolate product development, and international product development. Prior to joining Hershey, Steve worked in dairy applications development for Germantown USA in West Chester, PA, and in R&D at Vivolac Cultures Corporation, Indianapolis.
Steve holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Juniata College, a Master’s degree in Food Science from Penn State University, and a doctorate in Food Process Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.
Steve currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Juniata College. He is active in his local church, where he chairs the Finance Committee, and has also worked as a volunteer in refugee resettlement in Lancaster County. He resides in his hometown of Lancaster, PA with his wife and two sons.