Exodus at Ben & Jerry’s: six of the eight directors leave

The conflict between activist ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s and its owner, The Magnum Ice Cream Company, continues to escalate: six of the eight members have now left the board of directors.

Magnum wants to appoint a new chair

In December, Magnum had already dismissed chair Anuradha Mittal. At the same time, two other board members also had to step down because the listed company has set a nine-year term limit for board members. Now it appears that three more board members have had to leave because they refused to sign TMICC’s new code of conduct. As a result, only two board members remain who have ties to Unilever, which is still a co-shareholder in the ice cream company.

Magnum now wants to appoint a new independent chairman and board members, the company told Reuters. After the takeover by Unilever in 2000, Ben & Jerry’s was given an independent board with guarantees that the brand could continue to pursue its social mission independently. But since 2021, the brand has been in open conflict with its owner, among other things over its activities in the West Bank.