Candy giant The Hershey Company has appointed Leslie Turner as general counsel, secretary, and senior vice president, effective July 9. In her new role, Turner will lead the company's legal, government relations, corporate security and corporate secretary functions. She will also serve as a member of the global leadership team.

With 25 years of legal experience, Turner joins Hershey from Coca-Cola North America, where she has served as chief legal officer since 2008. In this capacity, she supported the strategic direction of the North America business unit by providing strategic advice, risk management and counsel.

Prior to Cocoa-Cola North America, Turner served as associate general counsel for The Coca-Cola Company's bottling investments group. Previously, she served as partner of law firm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. Earlier in her career, she served in various roles in government, including assistant secretary for the office of territorial and international affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior and later as counselor to then-Secretary Bruce Babbitt and director of the office of intergovernmental affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior.