Eric Lent’s blog

As a senior executive, Eric Lent has guided many of the world’s most visible, established consumer products through periods of great growth and prosperity. Visionary and strategic in his style, with a flair for motivating people, Eric Lent has delivered real results at companies including The Hershey Company, Eastman Kodak, S.C. Johnson and Saatchi & Saatchi.

Eric Lent is part of a turnaround leadership team that transformed Hershey into a top company with record quarterly earnings and leading U.S. market share in the candy, mint and gum category as well as superior shareholder return in the consumer packaged goods sector.

Sweet success: Hershey
In 2008, Eric Lent was appointed Vice President, Traditional Trade, Hershey International where he was chosen to develop strategies and business plans for the traditional trade segment of emerging markets across the globe. This new emerging consumer segment makes up nearly 4 billion people.  As the global economy expands this large group of consumers are joining the world economy and now have increased spending power like no other time in history.  This creates an enormous amount of opportunity for growth for Hershey as well as many other multi-national corporations.

Eric Lent’s responsibilities include providing leadership and coordination of International efforts to expand Hershey's presence in the important traditional trade channel around the world.  Eric leads Hershey’s focus countries in gaining superior understanding of the world's 4 billion traditional trade consumers.  Through this work, Eric Lent is developing distribution strategies to drive greater penetration and reach amongst these consumers through a portfolio of products that deliver the taste, affordability and durability so important for success in emerging economies.

Eric Lent previously served as the vice president and general manager of Hershey Canada, the largest subsidiary of The Hershey Company, a position he held since 2006.  At Hershey Canada, Eric Lent led a restructuring program and five-year strategic plan that included many competitive measures and realigned personnel into team-based work groups; largely through Eric Lent’s leadership, 2007 sales rose 15 percent over the previous year, with operating income rising 30 percent.

Eric Lent also helped lead the Canadian transformation of Hershey’s global supply chain, contributing to ongoing annual savings in excess of $150 million. Eric Lent also effectively guided the company through a national recall that affected 25 brands, minimizing sales loss and re-establishing business through innovative programs aimed at consumers. Eric Lent also acted as spokesperson during three plant shutdowns.

Before assuming the Hershey Canada position, Eric Lent was Hershey’s vice president of Confectionary, Snacks and Special Trade Channels, a billion-dollar business, from 2005 to 2006. In that position, Eric Lent was responsible for the management and financial leadership of popular brands including Ice Breakers, Twizzlers, Bubble Yum, Jolly Rancher and Breath Savers. Eric Lent also had accountability for Hershey’s Snacks Division as well as its food service, vending, concession, military and fundraising businesses. Among Eric Lent’s most significant accomplishments were achieving leading mint-category market share ahead of Altoids, launching the two top-selling items in the Refreshment segment, and increasing Hershey’s Refreshment category market share position from seventh to fourth with the launch of Ice Breakers Ice Cubes Gum. Eric Lent also led the company into the baked goods segment with the launch of Hershey’s and Reese’s Brownies, achieving a cookie distribution increase of more than 140  percent. He also led Hershey to dominate vending sales for the first time in its history.

From 2004 to 2005, Eric Lent was director of Hershey, York, Peter Paul and Portfolio Chocolates, a $1.4-billion business with 18 brands. His successes were many. Among the most noteworthy were a 9.7-percent sales increase over 52 weeks; significant gains in market share and product margins; exceeding 2004 business-plan sales by more than $88 million; developing and launching standardized global brand architecture and packaging; successfully reinvigorating the Almond Joy, York and Payday brands; and leading Payday into the energy bar segment with Payday Pro. Eric Lent also partnered with Yale University Hospital to attain clinical research validating the healthful benefits of chocolate, which Hershey leveraged into new packaging and advertising.

Picture-perfect: Eastman Kodak
Eric Lent was director of Picture Maker Kiosks and Mobile Phone Imaging at Eastman Kodak, U.S. and Canada Consumer Imaging, from 2003 to 2004. There he spearheaded strategy development, operations, marketing and P&L management for Picture Maker Kiosks, a $300-million business with 24,000 units. Under Eric Lent’s leadership, the division exceeded its performance goals and implemented ambitious plans to triple its units within three years. Eric Lent led development of the company’s major marketing campaign to drive retail digital printing, with a resulting 366-percent increase in pictures printed over a year. Eric Lent also led a team charged with developing camera-phone printing and partnered with Nokia to capitalize on phone cam technology. Eric Lent was also one of six people selected to guide overall organizational operations and allocation of marketing resources with a $100-million-dollar-plus budget

In another career highlight, the president of Kodak Consumer Imaging, U.S. and Canada, chose Eric Lent to analyze the Kodak Services organization to determine potential to drive incremental top-line growth. Eric Lent uncovered a $1.5 billion, five-year opportunity and developed the subsequent launch plan.

From 2000 to 2003, Eric Lent was Kodak’s Youth marketing director, tasked with enhancing Kodak’s popularity with teenagers through strategic development, new products, advertising, promotions and research. Eric Lent’s marketing efforts resulted in the company’s first increase among teens in Kodak brand preference and a 53-percent usage increase in one-time-use cameras. His partnership with Kodak’s ad agency led to the top-three highest-scoring ads in Kodak’s history, measured by persuasion, recall and effectiveness. Eric Lent also developed “Teenspiration,” a industry youth summit aimed at developing co-marketing relationships. Eric Lent launched a teen channel on Bolt.com, which became the top channel within three months and led to a 19-point gain in brand preference among Bolt.com members.

From 2001 to 2002, Eric Lent also served as marketing director of Consumer Digital Services, and from 2002 to 2003, he also acted as director of Kodak Service and Support. He was responsible for strategy and marketing of Kodak Picture CD, Kodak Picture Disk, AOL’s You’ve Got Pictures, Tape to CD/DVD transfer and all online photofinishing businesses. His achievements included a 37-percent sales increase and an 81-percent increase in Kodak Picture Center Online volume.

From 1999 to 2001, Eric Lent was marketing director for One-Time-Use Cameras, a $500-million business in the U.S. and Canada. In that position, he achieved annual growth of 20 percent and increased market penetration. Under Eric Lent’s leadership, Kodak one-time-use cameras expanded into vending channels.

S.C. Johnson
From 1995 to 1999, Eric Lent held positions at S.C. Johnson in Racine, Wis. From 1997 to 1999 he served as brand manager for Glade Air Fresheners, New Products. Eric Lent extended the Glade Candle Scents line into the growing aromatherapy segment, launching a $65-million product initiative. He also developed a strategy to increase Glade business by $100 million in three years.

Eric Lent was also a brand manager of Drano, where he achieved 52-week category leadership for the first time in the product’s history. He also led the development of Drano Foamer and helped create the strategy that led to the “most persuasive” ad in Drano History.