Ben Cohen
The Architect
Structured and legacy-driven; builds the systems and institutions that last.
Ben Cohen reads as The Architect because his career argues that business must be structurally rebuilt around social purpose, not merely decorated with it. He embedded governance mechanisms into the Ben and Jerry's acquisition agreement to legally protect that mission, then launched Free Ben and Jerry's when Unilever dismantled those protections. This is institutional correction rather than disruption for its own sake, a demand that corporate ownership frameworks themselves be redesigned.
“Business has now become the strongest force in our society. You can't have the most powerful force in the society only thinking about itself and expect that you're going to have a decent society for everybody else.”
“If a business does not have a social mission — if that's not a part of its purpose as a business — and the current guy in the White House says DEI bad, OK, DEI bad. And that's what's happened.”
“Some of the best moments of my life have been since I'm no longer operationally involved, and the company will come out taking a stand on a social issue I had absolutely nothing to do with. The values have been integrated into the fabric of the company.”
Ways to Change the World with Krishnan Guru-Murthy: “Ben & Jerry’s co-founder takes on Unilever over Gaza and free speech”
LISTEN AT THE SOURCE ↗THE RECORD IS CHECKABLE