Removed Ben & Jerrys chair says Magnum aimed to smear her

The ousted chair of Ben & Jerry’s has accused the company which owns the brand of threatening to launch a public smear campaign against her.

Anuradha Mittal, who chaired Ben & Jerry’s independent board for seven years, told the BBC that Magnum had threatened to publish “defamatory statements” about her if she did not step down from her role.

It relates to an increasingly bitter dispute between the Vermont-based activist ice cream maker and its owner over the independence of the board and its freedom to pursue its social missions.

Magnum said in its view Mittal “no longer met the criteria to serve” on the board, following an investigation it had commissioned by external advisors.

In a statement on Monday, Magnum outlined changes to the way the board operates including a nine-year limit for people serving on it.

As well as Mittal, who said she had received a letter telling her she had been removed from the board, two other board members will be required to leave as a result.

It also said that an audit of the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, a charitable organisation, had “identified a series of material deficiencies in financial controls, governance and other compliance policies, including conflicts of interest”.

Speaking to the BBC’s World Business Report, Mittal said there had been an escalation of the friction between Ben & Jerry’s board and its owner, over the brand’s independence, social mission and integrity.

“For several years now, we have been resisting their overreach, including their efforts to muzzle us from speaking out for human rights, for peace,” she said.

The brand, which is also known for the playful puns in its flavour names, was owned by Unilever until earlier this month, when the household goods giant spun off its ice cream unit to create, Magnum Ice Cream Company.

Ben & Jerry’s was sold to Unilever in 2000 in a deal which allowed it to retain an independent board and the right to make decisions about its social mission.

This was a frequent source of friction while owned by Unilever.

In 2021, Ben & Jerry’s refused to sell its products in areas occupied by Israel, resulting in its Israeli operation being sold by Unilever to a local licensee, and in October, Ben Cohen said it was prevented from launching an ice cream which expressed “solidarity with Palestine”.

This row has now been inherited by Magnum, culminating in this week’s stand-off, and Mittal’s removal.

“This October, Unilever-Magnum executives threatened me with defamatory statements in their forthcoming prospectus if I did not resign,” Mittal said.

“At the same time, they offered me a prominent role in a multimillion dollar Unilever-funded non-profit if I gave in,” she added.

She said she had turned down that “inappropriate” offer.

Magnum is now the world’s largest ice cream maker, with its brands include Cornetto, Wall’s and Carte D’Or.

Mittal, founder of the Oakland Institute, a human rights and development focused think tank in California, described Magnum’s approach as a “public smear campaign” and said the allegations were unfounded.

One of the firm’s original founders Jerry Greenfield left the firm in September saying he felt its social mission was being stifled. The other, Ben Cohen, has also hit out at Magnum saying it was “not fit” to own the firm.

In a statement a spokesperson for Magnum said the steps it had taken were aimed at strengthening corporate governance and to “reaffirm the responsibilities of the Board of Ben & Jerry’s”.

“These actions aim to preserve and enhance the brand’s historical social mission and safeguard its essential integrity,” a spokesperson said.

When Ben & Jerry’s was created in 1978 it made its mark selling flavours such as Cherry Garcia named after the guitarist from rock band Grateful Dead, Bohemian Raspberry, a play on the Queen track, and the now discontinued Vermonty Python.

Magnum said in its statement: “We remain unequivocally committed to Ben & Jerry’s three-part mission – product, economic and social – and its progressive, non-partisan values.

“Ben & Jerry’s continues to advocate for a range of causes and be a bold voice for social justice, as a glance at its social media channels demonstrates.”