The Triple Bottom Line Blog

Following other signs of turbulence, including the resignation of the CEO, here's the latest in the saga of troubled Hershey Foods (makers of the iconic chocolate bar) and its largest single shareholder, the Hershey Trust:

In another high-level departure in Hershey, the chief executive of the Hershey Trust Co., Robert C. Vowler, said he would retire from the company that has overseen investing decisions for one of the world's largest educational endowments.

The Hershey Trust manages $8 billion in assets owned by the Milton S. Hershey School for underprivileged children. Among the school's assets is stock that controls the Hershey Co., the chocolate-bar-maker and major Pennsylvania employer, and the Hershey amusement park.

As president of the trust in 2002, Vowler played a central role in negotiating to sell the Hershey Co. to diversify the multibillion-dollar school endowment. But the deal encountered fierce community opposition and fell apart. Company and trust officials revived deal talks in 2007, again without success.

The Hershey Trust administers the estate of founder Milton Hershey on behalf of the school he created and the community he built. In our book The Triple Bottom Line, we told the story of the 2002 battle over corporate control among the company, the trust, and the town--a revealing parable of how the community where your company operates can exercise a virtual veto power over your business strategies in this day of intense mutual interconnections. Evidently the aftershocks from that struggle still aren't finished.

Labels: Finance and Investment, Hershey Foods, Hershey Trust, Robert C. Vowler