The Hershey Company has announced that it has hired Deepak Bhatia as its first chief technology officer and newest member of its executive committee. According to the company, 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.

During his 12-year tenure at Amazon in supply chain optimization, Bhatia 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.

"We are investing in our people and digital capabilities to strengthen our infrastructure and scale across our growing supply chain and business units," said Michele Buck, The Hershey Company president and chief executive officer. "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."

"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,” said Bhatia. “I look forward to shaping a future of innovation and excellence."

In June, The Hershey Company announced that its U.S. business is now certified as a Great Place to Work, determined by feedback from current employees.