Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Jerry Greenfield Resigns After 47 Years

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Ben & Jerry’s has lost its Jerry. 

After 47 years, Jerry Greenfield-co-founder of the ice cream company with Ben Cohen-has stepped down, explaining he could no longer support the company’s parent organization, Unilever.

On September 17th, Jerry announced his resignation from the company he and Ben founded in 1978. He described it as a very difficult and painful decision.

Despite leaving, Jerry insisted that he still loved his colleagues who work at the company. 

The people who work in our factories, stores, and offices are incredibly dedicated, kind, and committed to our values. They truly represent what Ben & Jerry’s is all about.

The 74-year-old said Unilever, which bought Ben & Jerry’s in 2000, was no longer honoring the promises they’d made to him and his business partner.

For over two decades, Ben & Jerry’s actively supported peace, justice, and human rights, connecting these values to current world events. The ability to do so was a key part of the deal when Unilever bought the company. Now, they’ve come to the disheartening realization that this independence has been lost.

Indeed, Jerry noted that it no longer felt worth it to him to participate in Ben & Jerry’s. 

Jerry explained that from the start, he and Ben prioritized their principles and a commitment to fairness over the success of their business. They felt that if the company couldn’t uphold what they believed in, it wasn’t worth existing.

Even though the company primarily makes ice cream, Jerry explained that its mission has always been bigger than that.

He explained it was a way to show compassion and encourage others to work towards fairness, justice, and a more positive future. However, believing that Ben & Jerry’s no longer supports these values led him to resign.

Jerry stated that if he couldn’t uphold his principles within the company, he would continue to live by them elsewhere, with passion and dedication.

TopMob News has reached out to Unilever for comment and has not yet heard back.

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2025-09-17 18:17