A West Virginia University graduate who has climbed the corporate ladder at Hershey Foods will present the WVU College of Engineering and Mineral Resources Distinguished Alumni Lecture at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 6, in 113 Mineral Resources Building.

Frank Cerminara, senior vice president and chief financial officer of the global confectioner responsible for such treats as Hersheys candy bars, Milk Duds and Whoppers, will speak on”Dealing with Wall Street.”The lecture �€which is open to the public �€will focus on framing strategic plans and direction for the Wall Street community by building relationships with sell-side analysts and institutional investors, while dealing with earnings releases, conference calls and Securities and Exchange Commission regulations.

“Not many engineers think they will be faced with these types of issues during their careers,”Cerminara said.”I am glad to have the opportunity to return to campus and shed light on these topics while discussing some of the situations I have faced this year.”

Cerminara is a 1970 graduate of the WVU Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering and earned his masters degree in business administration in corporate finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

During his 31-year business career, Cerminara has worked his way through Hershey Foods Corp. In 1972, he began his career as a budget analyst, and by 1976 he was manager of financial analysis. Over the next two years, he was promoted to a variety of positions in marketing. During the 1980s Cerminara worked on various assignments in procurement and in 1985 became director of commodities.

By 1988, he was vice president for corporate development and commodities. Cerminara was in charge of managing the acquisition of entire companies such as the manufacturer of the Almond Joy, Peter Paul Cadbury Co., York Peppermint Patties and other popular candy bars.

In 1994, Cerminara was promoted to vice president of procurement, where he was responsible for purchasing all commodities, packaging materials and contract manufacturing. He is currently a senior leader at Hershey Foods.

“We take pleasure in welcoming back our alumni to WVU ,”said Dean Eugene Cilento.”I think Mr. Cerminaras presentation will give our students great insight on certain issues that they may not expect to have interaction with in their future professions.”