Ben & Jerry’s names McCarthy CEO
Ben & Jerry’s has named Matthew McCarthy chief executive officer of the well-known ice cream company. McCarthy, a 21-year veteran at Ben & Jerry’s parent company, Unilever, assumed the position July 1, 2018.
Ben & Jerry’s has named Matthew McCarthy chief executive officer of the well-known ice cream company. McCarthy, a 21-year veteran at Ben & Jerry’s parent company, Unilever, assumed the position July 1, 2018. He replaced Jostein Solheim, a 25-plus year Unilever veteran who helmed the business for eight years. Solheim helped build and solidify the working relationship between Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever, while growing the business and its social impact. Solheim was promoted to executive vice president of foods and refreshments at Unilever.
“We are delighted to welcome Matthew, who brings a wealth of commercial experience, along with rock-solid values and a courageous vision for the role businesses can and should play in the world,” said Anuradha Mittal, chairperson of Ben & Jerry’s board of directors. “We look forward to working with him and to continuing our mission as a social justice company which just happens to make pretty good ice cream.”
While at Unilever, McCarthy increased the social impact of a number of the company’s leading brands, including Hellmann’s, which has led the industry in using certified cage-free eggs in its mayonnaise. Most recently, McCarthy and his team created Growing Roots, Unilever’s first organic snacking brand with a mission to support urban farming in underserved communities. McCarthy earned his bachelor’s degree in politics and French from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his MBA in marketing from the Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University.