Jeff Asher runs one of the oldest continuously family-owned confectioners in the country, and he is already handing the next generation its keys. The fourth-generation Asher was appointed president and CEO of the Souderton chocolate maker in 2016, and in 2022 he was named chairman of the board while keeping the top operating role. That same year he appointed his two children, Sophie and Chester, to the board of directors, both representing the fifth generation.

The company, founded in 1892, produces more than eight million pounds of candy a year from a 125,000-square-foot Souderton facility and sells across all 50 states and select overseas markets.

In a company statement announcing the board changes, Asher said his children “bring a contemporary perspective to all facets of our business.”

Billy Cyr is the CEO and a board member of Freshpet, a publicly traded pet food company in Bethlehem that produces all-natural fresh refrigerated pet food. Since joining in 2016, Cyr has overseen nearly 10-fold revenue growth — from $115 million to a projected $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2026 net sales — while expanding the workforce from roughly 225 to more than 1,400 employees across Pennsylvania, Texas and New Jersey and growing its retail fridge footprint from 15,000 to more than 39,000 units in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.

Cyr anchors his leadership in daily floor presence, arriving at 4:45 a.m. to speak with the outgoing night crew and greet the incoming day shift.

“I firmly believe it is my job to enable every member of our team to contribute to their fullest,” he said.

Chip Czulada runs the company that builds the ovens and production lines behind much of the world’s snack output. He became president of Reading Bakery Systems, the Robesonia manufacturer of snack production systems, on Jan. 1, 2024, succeeding Joe Zaleski.

Czulada joined RBS in 2003 as chief financial officer and moved through successive roles, most recently executive vice president, overseeing daily operations spanning accounting, parts sales and manufacturing, information technology, human resources and Reading Thermal.

His career covers more than 35 years in financial and manufacturing management. The company operates under Markel Food Group.

“I am honored to be given the opportunity to lead this fantastic group of people at RBS,” he said in a company statement.

David Jaindl runs a fifth-generation Lehigh Valley enterprise that spans turkey farming, land development, beverages and orchards from its base in Orefield.

Beyond Jaindl Farms, the operation includes Jaindl Turkey Sales, Jaindl Land Company, Jaindl Beverage (A-Treat) and Schantz Orchards.

On the development side, Jaindl oversees roughly 65 real estate projects across industrial, residential, commercial and hospitality work, including active subdivisions in Lower and Upper Macungie and a Hanover Township mixed-use project.

“We see the best opportunities with sites that are close to infrastructure and properties that can either be repositioned or redeveloped into a higher and better use,” he said in a previous LVB interview.

He co-founded the Miracle League of the Lehigh Valley in 2006.

Mark Schlesinger is president of Schless Bottles Inc. in Allentown, where he has led the company’s operations and customer relationships for 26 years. Schlesinger oversees daily operations while maintaining direct contact with both new and existing clients, building the kind of personalized service he says combines the professionalism of a large corporate company with the dedication of a small business.

Since relocating to Allentown, Schless Bottles has brought additional jobs to the Lehigh Valley community. Schlesinger credits that growth to a team-first culture built on mutual respect.

“An employee who feels valued is a dedicated employee,” he said.

That same philosophy extends to clients — Schlesinger said the company will flex its operations to meet even overnight surges in customer demand, ensuring needs are covered at all times.

David N. Shaffer runs one of the country’s largest candy companies alongside his son-in-law, a third-generation succession arranged to carry a Bethlehem institution past its 100th year.

Shaffer and Gardner “Chip” Jett Jr. were elected co-CEOs effective Sept. 16, 2022, succeeding the partnership Shaffer had long shared with his cousin Ross Born.

Shaffer, who joined Just Born in 1978 and became co-president in 1992, also chairs the board.

The company employs more than 600 associates and makes Peeps, Mike and Ike, Hot Tamales and Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews from its headquarters and factory in Bethlehem, with a second factory in Philadelphia.

The succession came, Shaffer said in a company statement, with the company “on sound financial footing, our iconic brands are healthy.”

Justin Spannuth runs the day-to-day of a Berks County pretzel maker that has stayed in one family since its 1921 incorporation, and he is steering it through its first major rebrand in a century. He has served as vice president and COO of Unique Snacks since June 1999, overseeing a workforce of more than 100.

In January, the company rolled out a new logo, packaging, and the tagline “Daringly Different.”

“Our Daringly Different branding celebrates our unwavering, century-long commitment to crafting premium, better-for-you snacks,” Spannuth said in a December 2025 LVB article.

The seventh-generation operator ties growth to culture:

“It is important for our people to be comfortable with change,” he said in a previous LVB profile.

He chaired SNAC International for 2023-24.

Bruce Sturgis runs a pretzel bakery his family has operated, by its own account, longer than any other in the country.

As president and treasurer of Tom Sturgis Pretzels in Shillington, he is the great-great-grandson of Julius Sturgis, who opened what the company calls America’s first commercial pretzel bakery in Lititz in 1861.

The company was established in 1946 by his grandfather, Marriott “Tom” Sturgis, and has occupied its Route 222 plant since 1970. There, Sturgis oversees production of more than 15 pretzel varieties, some still baked on a soapstone hearth.