USA – Ben & Jerry’s, an ice cream business subsidiary of Unilever, has appointed its chief marketing officer Dave Stever as the company’s chief executive officer CEO effective on 8 May 2023.

Stever succeeds Mathew McCarthy, who “recently retired” from the company after five years of tenure. According to the ice cream giant, this is the first time since co-founder Ben Cohen stepped down as CEO that a staff member has been promoted from within to the CEO position.

“The board is very pleased with the selection of Dave as Ben & Jerry’s next CEO, and not just because of his passion,” Anuradha Mittal, Ben & Jerry’s board chair said.

“Dave’s long history at Ben & Jerry’s, along with his recognition of the integral role that the company’s values and ‘Social Mission’ play in our growth and our commitment to advancing justice and equity in the world, make him the best choice to write the next chapter.”

For the last 12 years, Stever has worked for Ben & Jerry’s as the chief marketing officer where he started as a tour guide almost 35 years ago at the  Waterbury factory.

“Stever knows Ben & Jerry’s inside and out. He lives it and breathes it. We are psyched to have someone with Dave’s talent, passion, and demonstrated ability as our CEO.” Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen, said.

The appointment follows a reaching of an agreement with workers at its flagship store in Burlington on a set of rules to ensure a fair union election, last month after the workers’  made it official that they sought to organize.

The agreement was expected to pave the way for the store to become the only unionized Ben & Jerry’s location in the United States. 

In 2021, the company got in a spat with its owner, Unilever, when it refused to supply its Israeli distributor to protest Israel’s settlements in the West Bank.

At the end of last year, Unilever sold its Ben & Jerry’s business interests in Israel to Blue and White Ice Cream Ltd.

This new arrangement meant that Ben & Jerry’s would be sold under its Hebrew and Arabic names throughout Israel and the West Bank under the full ownership of its former licensee.

The independent members of the Board of Ben & Jerry’s applied to the courts for an injunction to stop the sale but the application was rejected.

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