Ben Cohen

Topics:

• Business
• Entrepreneurs
• Marketing & Branding
• Sustainability

Ben Cohen is co-founder of Ben & Jerry's - one of the most talked-about and least conventional success stories in American business.  They built a store-front venture into a $300 million ice cream empire by making social responsibility and creative management strengths instead of weaknesses.  Ben is a superb conference speaker on topics including entrepreneurial spirit, social responsibility and a radical business philosophy.

The Beginning of Ben & Jerry's

Childhood friends who went separate ways after high school, the two reunited in 1977 to fulfill a dream they both shared: running a food business. They eventually settled on ice cream, and one year later, after a bit of research (and a $5 Penn State correspondence course in ice cream making), they opened Ben & Jerry's Homemade ice cream parlor in Vermont.

The duo soon became known throughout Vermont for rich, unusual flavors and a community-oriented approach to business. They sponsored a "Fall Down Festival" and a free outdoor movie festival, and celebrated their anniversaries with a Free Cone Day. As the company grew, Ben's jobs included scooper and taste-tester, truck driver, marketing director, salesperson and president. Jerry began by making all the ice cream, but as the company expanded into new markets he soon found himself handling everything from distribution to orientation to employee motivation.

Corporate Social Responsibility

With their best-selling "Ben & Jerry's Double-Dip: Lead with Your Values and Make Money, Too," they created a nuts-and-bolts guidebook to the promise and pitfalls of "values-led" business, as well as an inspiring wake-up call about the growing international influence of the "socially conscience" or "mission driven" corporation.

Today a model for American business success, Ben and Jerry have been recognized for fostering commitment to social responsibility by the Council on Economic Priorities, which awarded them the Corporate Giving Award in 1988 (for donating 7.5 percent of pre-tax profits to non-profit organizations); and by the U.S. Small Business Administration, which named them U.S. Small Business Persons of the Year in 1988 in a White House ceremony hosted by President Reagan.

Conference Speaking

Bringing all of this to life at the lecture podium, Ben presentation is a rousing tribute to America's entrepreneurial spirit, full of anecdotes and radical business philosophy-and comes complete with servings of Ben & Jerry's ice cream for the entire audience!  It is also possible to have both Ben and Jerry speaking at your event.

For further information or to book Ben Cohen, call us on +44 (0) 20 8365 3200 or email info@speakerscorner.co.uk