David G. Onorato

Class of 2012

David G. Onorato was born in Bryn Mawr, PA, on June 20, 1960, to Vincent and Patricia, who also raised Vincent Jr.

David graduated in 1978 from Malvern Preparatory School in Malvern, PA. He enrolled at the University of Florida the same year, transferring to Albright College in Reading, PA, in 1980.

He married Angela on May 26, 1984, at St. Patrick’s Church in Malvern. The couple has three children: David, Nicole and Steven.

David started his 28-year career in the confectionery industry with The Hershey Co. in 1984 as a sales representative. He worked his way up in the company through numerous positions, including Regional Sales Manager and National Sales Director, and is currently Vice-President of Global Convenience, Specialty and U.S. Export Sales. He says this promotion is one of his most memorable career moments, along with seeing others he has mentored receive promotions.

He says he chose to stay with Hershey because of the opportunity for career advancement, and he credits Jack Ross, Bob Ferraraccio, Milt Matthews, Rick Kenny, Dave West, Dick Bello, Tom Joyce and Don Vucovich as key individuals who had the greatest impact on his career.

David says his biggest day-to-day challenge is balancing life inside and outside of work to ensure personal and professional success and happiness. Important factors to his success have been support from his wife, outstanding teachers and his willingness to learn and help teach others.

David says his biggest regret is not seeking more global experience earlier in his career.

He is a three-time winner of Hershey’s sales achievement award, the President’s Cup, taking home the honors in 1985, 1998 and 2003. The Southern Association of Wholesale Distributors named him Candy Sales Person of the Year in 2005.

David’s community involvement includes 20 years of volunteering with The United Way. The Central Pennsylvania Blood Bank also honored him for raising awareness about blood donations.

Since 2009, David has been a high school football fundraiser and coach for Marsico Performance Sports, and when he finds spare time, he enjoys hunting and fishing.