How does The Hershey Company develop the next great product? Hershey Chief Research & Development Officer Will Papa explains some of the company’s greatest challenges and current innovation efforts.

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Will Papa is Senior Vice President, Chief Research & Development Officer for The Hershey Company. In this role, he is responsible for the company’s upstream research, technology, packaging and product development functions. Papa leads a team responsible for developing new product and packaging innovations that are critical to the company’s key strategy of driving growth through innovation.

Papa joined Hershey in October 2012. Prior to Hershey, he worked at Procter & Gamble in roles of increasing responsibility in the Research & Development department.

Papa holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech. He has exceptional sensory skills and is a certified expert “cupper” (the coffee industry term for an expert taster). He also serves as a wine judge.

While at Procter & Gamble, Papa was a long-time community volunteer for the city of Wyoming, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. He was also a three-term City Councilman in Wyoming where he chaired five city committees. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the United Way. He resides in Enola, Pa. with his family.