Dreamers of dreams

17 October 2016 By Jeffrey Goldfarb Follow @jgfarb

Fresh from spurning a $25 bln bid from Mondelez, the U.S. confectioner’s CEO and lead director are leaving. The board of the controlling Hershey Trust also faces upheaval imposed by local officials. Willy Wonka-like, the chocolate factory just might try some pure imagination.

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Hershey said on Oct. 14 that Chairman and Chief Executive John Bilbrey plans to retire on July 1, 2017, and that the lead independent director, James Nevels, would not stand for re-election at the company's 2017 annual meeting of shareholders.

On July 29, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office forced three trustees of the charitable trust that controls Hershey, including Nevels, to step down by the end of the year as part of a reform agreement that followed an investigation into governance, compensation and expenses. Two other trustees will leave by the end of 2017.

The deal includes a 10-year term limit for trustees and limits their pay to $110,000.

Mondelez, the maker of Oreo cookies and Cadbury chocolates, said on Aug. 29 it was no longer pursuing an acquisition of Hershey after the company turned down its cash-and-stock bid.

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