A long-running dispute over Ben & Jerry’s social mission and governance intensified this week after The Magnum Ice Cream Company (LSE:MICC) accused the ice cream brand’s former board chair of misconduct and disclosed that Ben & Jerry’s board has been reduced from eight directors to just two.
Magnum became Ben & Jerry’s parent company in December, when Unilever spun off its ice cream division into the newly listed group, while retaining a 19.9% ownership stake. Unilever originally acquired the Vermont-based, socially focused ice cream maker in 2000.
Since 2024, Ben & Jerry’s and its independent board have been locked in legal proceedings against Unilever — and now Magnum — in a U.S. District Court in New York. The lawsuit alleges that the parent companies sought to erode the brand’s progressive social mission and weaken the independence of its board.
In a court filing dated January 20, Magnum said that only Ben & Jerry’s chief executive and a Unilever-appointed director now remain on the board. Former board chair Anuradha Mittal was removed in mid-December after Magnum determined she was no longer fit to serve, while two veteran directors stepped down following the introduction of nine-year term limits.
According to the filing, Magnum said Mittal “had engaged in serious misconduct that rendered her ineligible to serve on the board” and cited an Ernst & Young audit of the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation — a separate U.S. nonprofit funded by the brand — which raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest.
Magnum also said that the three remaining independent directors failed to certify compliance with its code of business integrity and declined to undergo mandatory compliance training, resulting in their departure from the board as of January 1. The company added that it shared key audit findings with the foundation in September.
Mittal has rejected Magnum’s claims, accusing both Magnum and Unilever of attempting to discredit her and undermine the board’s authority. “Magnum’s midnight purge of independent directors who provide oversight authority and holding hostage charitable funds— all while they continue to conceal the audit report and scope of work — speak for themselves,” Mittal said in a statement on Thursday.
Magnum described the ongoing litigation as “regrettable” and said it remains committed to supporting Ben & Jerry’s operations. “We look forward to the development of a refreshed Board with a majority of Independent Directors, led by an Independent Director,” the company said in a statement.
The company further alleged that the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation had repeatedly issued grants to organisations where trustees — including Mittal — held senior roles and received compensation or other benefits. The foundation, for its part, said it had “become collateral damage” amid the escalating dispute.
Tensions between Ben & Jerry’s and its parent companies first became public in 2021, when the ice cream maker announced it would stop selling products in Israeli-occupied West Bank territories — a move that marked the beginning of a deepening rift over governance and values.
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