Unilever has appointed a new CEO to lead Ben & Jerry’s as its battle over the ice cream brand’s lefty politics heats up, according to a report Friday.
Jochanan Senf, a Dutch Unilever executive who previously managed Ben & Jerry’s Europe business, will start in the new role this month after the British parent company abruptly axed former CEO David Stever, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In a court filing in March, Ben & Jerry’s independent board — which manages the Vermont-based company’s social activism and mission — had accused Unilever of firing Stever, who started as a tour guide for the brand’s Waterbury factory in 1988.
The board — which was created and given power over management as a stipulation in the acquisition agreement when Unilever took over the company in 2000 — was not allowed to interview candidates to replace Stever, a source familiar with the matter told the Journal.
The board also was excluded from the appointment process over the board’s political activism – including support for anti-Trump policies and protests against Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza, according to the report that cited unnamed sources.
Unilever’s firing of Stever broke its merger agreement with Ben & Jerry’s, which “protects Ben & Jerry’s interest by precluding the unilateral removal of its CEO,” according to the complaint filed in March.
The parent company responded that it has the authority to appoint a new chief executive and that it would only do so after speaking with the board.
Unilever is planning to spin off its ice cream unit this year, renamed the Magnum Ice Cream Company. It will be listed in the Netherlands as a separate company.
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Author: Marty Kaufmann
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