Domenic M. Antonellis

Class of 1990

Domenic joined the New England Confectionery Co. (Necco) in 1968 following a 10-year industrial engineering career with General Motors. At Necco, he served as an industrial engineer manager, plant manager, general manager and as vice-president of operations.

In 1978 he was named president of the multi-line candy company. At just 37 years old, he became the youngest president in the company’s history. At the time of his induction he served the company as president and CEO.

Under Dom’s guidance, six major acquisitions drove the company’s growth from $10 million to $100 million in annual sales. These include the 1990 purchase of Stark Candy Co.; the addition of Candy House Candy Buttons in 1991; the 1994 purchase of both Haviland Candy (formerly Borden/Deran) and the Glenn Candy Co.; the acquisition in 1996 of the assets of Falcon Candy Co.; and in 1999, the purchase of Clark Bar America.

In 2003, Necco, in association with four other candy companies, formed Imagination Confections, LLC to produce a wide variety of Disney-licensed candy items for distribution throughout North America.

In 2004, he oversaw Necco’s move from its long-time headquarters in Cambridge, MA, into a new 816,000-square-foot world headquarters located on a 52-acre site in Revere, MA. The facility encompasses three operations that had been located in Cambridge and Woburn, MA.

Throughout his career in the candy business, Dom has been affiliated with and served on numerous boards, including those of the National Confectioners Association, the New England Manufacturing Association and the NCSA.

He has also been honored extensively by the industry, including being named an AWMA Dean in 1989. In 1990 he was inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame and in 1995 was named the Boston Candy Club’s Candy Man of the Year. In 1997 he was nominated for the Kettle Award and in 1999 was inducted into the AWMA Hall of Fame. He received the industry’s Kettle Award in 2003.

Outside the industry, Dom has found time in his busy schedule to support a wide variety of community services, including serving as coach for Pop Warner football. He has also lent his considerable talents and expertise to fundraising activities for the Holy Cross Parish, the Boston College Alumni Association, the Sons of Italy in America, Boston Children’s Hospital and the Jimmy Fund for Cancer Research.