Hershey Trust Company (HTC) in Hershey, Pa., named Leslie Lenzo as its chief executive officer and chief investment officer, effective Jan. 1, 2023. She will succeed Janice Bratton, who is retiring at the end of this year after 33 years at HTC. Bratton has served as CIO since 2018 and as CEO and CIO March 2021.
HTC serves as an investment adviser to the Milton Hershey School Trust, the M.S. Hershey Foundation, and the Hershey Cemetery Perpetual Care Trust and oversees a portfolio of approximately $12.7 billion.
Lenzo joins HTC from Advocate Aurora Health in Downers Grove, Ill., where she has served for more than a decade, most recently as a senior vice president and chief investment officer, a role in which she was responsible for more than $14 billion of investment assets across multiple pools of capital.
“We are pleased to welcome Leslie to Hershey Trust Company and are extremely confident in her ability to lead the organization and our investment program, building upon our already strong foundation,” M. Diane Koken, chair of the HTC Board, said in a released statement. “She is a proven leader and investor who possesses the experience and expertise to deliver the investment performance required to support our mission and the legacy of Milton and Catherine Hershey.”
“It is an honor to join such a prestigious investment organization and help support the legacy of Milton and Catherine Hershey,” Lenzo stated. “I look forward to working with the Board, the HTC team, and the leadership of the Milton Hershey School, The M.S. Hershey Foundation and the Hershey Cemetery to provide excellent investment management and client service in support of their critical missions. My husband, four sons and I are excited to become part of the Hershey community.”
Commenting on Bratton’s retirement, Koken said “Jan Bratton, our current CEO and CIO, is retiring after a long career of devoted service in a variety of increasingly responsible roles at HTC. During Jan’s tenure, both the assets and the income of the Milton Hershey School Trust have grown many times over, an accomplishment that has benefited literally thousands of children…Jan’s financial expertise and dedication to the mission begun by Milton and Catherine Hershey will leave a lasting legacy in the years to come.”
HTC was founded in 1905 by Milton S. Hershey. It is a Pennsylvania-chartered trust company that serves as trustee of, and investment advisor to, the Milton Hershey School Trust, The M.S. Hershey Foundation, and the Hershey Cemetery Perpetual Care Trust.
