Unilever Appoints Jochanan Senf as CEO of Ben & Jerry’s
Unilever has named Jochanan Senf as the new CEO of Ben & Jerry’s in the midst of an ongoing conflict with the popular ice cream brand’s board. Senf brings seven years of experience working closely with the Ben & Jerry’s brand, providing him with valuable insight into the product, as well as its economic and social impact, according to a statement released by Unilever.
The decision comes at a time when Ben & Jerry’s is embroiled in a legal battle with Unilever over the removal of its former CEO, Dave Stever. The ice cream company alleges that Stever was fired by its parent company for supporting the brand’s social mission rather than due to his job performance.
In a court filing earlier this year, Ben & Jerry’s accused Unilever of threatening its personnel, including CEO David Stever, to comply with efforts to stifle its social mission. The brand also claimed that Unilever pressured it to refrain from criticizing President Donald Trump and attempted to prevent it from advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza.
As part of Unilever’s acquisition of Ben & Jerry’s in 2000, an agreement was reached that allowed the ice cream brand’s independent board to pursue its social mission while granting the London-based consumer goods company final authority over financial and operational matters. However, the board was excluded from the selection process for Stever’s successor, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Unilever is set to spin off its ice cream business, including Ben & Jerry’s, later this year under the name The Magnum Ice Cream Company. Ben & Jerry’s led the U.S. ice cream market in 2023 with $951 million in sales, as reported by Statista, in a market valued at over $19 billion according to Mintel.