John H. Dowd

John H. "Jack" Dowd Jr. (1922–2004) was a Hershey Chocolate Company brand manager who negotiated the marketing agreement that placed Reese's Pieces in Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. He later worked as an advertising executive,

Early life and education During World War II, Dowd served in an army infantry unit that conducted patrols behind enemy lines.

After graduating from the University of Connecticut he was accepted at the Harvard School of Business at which he received his MBA in 1948. He focused on rethinking of who their customers were: not the wholesalers and grocery stores but the end consumers who ate the product. He began as brands manager and advanced to vice president of new business development.

Dowd was responsible in the 1970s for the promotional ad blitz that made Reese's Peanut Butter Cups a major success.

In 1982, Dowd negotiated a contract for Reese's Pieces to appear in Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the first promotion in the company's history, as reported in People

He was named "Consumer Products Man of the Year" by Sales and Marketing magazine. His story was included in the book Emperors of Chocolate, a book by a person with familial connection to some of Dowd's colleges at Hershey about the late 1960s and into the 1970s turnaround at Hershey that Dowd was a part of, and in the February 1999 issue of Reader's Digest.

Personal life Dowd and his wife Mary Ann met while both students at the University of Connecticut. They had two children.