Ben & Jerry's ousts board chair Mittal as it sets new term limits

By Alexander Marrow

LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Ben & Jerry's has ousted the chair of its independent board as part of new governance practices introduced by the Vermont-based ice cream brand on Monday that include nine-year term limits for board members.

Anuradha Mittal, who joined the Ben & Jerry's board in 2007, serving as chair since 2018, said this month she had no plans to resign under pressure from the then Ben & Jerry's owner Unilever ULVR.L, calling efforts to remove her an attempt by Unilever to "undermine the authority of the board itself".

The Cherry Garcia ice cream maker is now owned by The Magnum Ice Cream Company MICC.AS, after a spinoff from Unilever last week that created the world's largest standalone ice cream company, commanding around a fifth of the $87 billion global market.

DIRECTORS NOTIFIED OF 'INELIGIBILITY TO SERVE'

Ben & Jerry's, whose 2000 merger agreement with Unilever created an independent board and preserved the brand's social mission and charitable work, said in a statement that any director who has served more than nine years on the board would not be eligible for annual re-election in 2026.

"Two directors were notified today that they will no longer be eligible to serve on the board going forward," Ben & Jerry's said. "In total, three directors have been notified of their ineligibility to serve on the Board."

Ben & Jerry's did not name the directors, but a person familiar with the matter confirmed that Mittal has left her role with immediate effect, while long-standing directors Daryn Dodson and Jennifer Henderson would see their terms expire on December 31.

Mittal did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Dodson and Henderson could not be immediately reached.

Ben & Jerry's has been at odds with its parent company since at least 2021 when it said it would stop selling in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen said the three directors had served the company with integrity and courage, calling their departure "another step in Magnum’s systematic effort to dismantle Ben & Jerry’s from the inside and silence the very social mission that gives the brand its value."

'NARRATIVE OF DYSFUNCTION'

In preparation for the spinoff, Unilever and Magnum have sought to improve Ben & Jerry's corporate governance and ordered an independent audit of the Ben & Jerry's Foundation, a separate U.S. non-profit that is funded by the brand.

Ben & Jerry's said the foundation's trustees have so far declined to make changes to address deficiencies in financial controls and governance and the foundation's $5 million in annual funding is now in doubt.

In a statement, the foundation's trustees said claims of governance deficiencies were misleading and unfounded.

"What is happening is a coordinated effort by Magnum to manufacture a narrative of dysfunction to justify unprecedented demands for control over an independent board and mission-driven institution," the trustees said.

Magnum said it fully supported the steps Ben & Jerry's was taking to enhance board governance.