South Burlington, Vermont, USA

Ben & Jerry's is a counter-example to steward-ownership: a case where mission protection relied on a contract and an independent board rather than an ownership lock. Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry's for $326 million in April 2000. Co-founder Ben Cohen could not block the sale — shareholders voted for it. The merger agreement established an independent board with legally-binding authority over the social mission and brand integrity, enforceable through the courts. The arrangement held for roughly 20 years. From 2021 onward it eroded: after the independent board halted sales in occupied West Bank territory and later sought to call for a Gaza ceasefire, disputes escalated into litigation. The board alleged Unilever silenced its activism and ousted its CEO. Following the 2025 spin-off into 'The Magnum Ice Cream Company', the parent moved to restructure the independent board and withhold foundation funding; the Ben & Jerry's Foundation won a 2026 ruling to join the lawsuit. Cohen has publicly campaigned to buy the brand back. The failure illustrates that contractual clauses and an independent board are not substitutes for ownership: when values became inconvenient to the shareholder, share control prevailed over negotiated protections.