Ben Cohen

Co-Founder of Ben & Jerry

Bringing all of this to life at the lecture podium, Cohen’s presentation delivers a rousing tribute to America’s entrepreneurial spirit, full of anecdotes and radical business philosophy focusing on the importance of bringing social responsibility to the business world. The great sense of fun that is the company’s hallmark is brought to the program with the serving of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for the entire audience.

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Full Bio

Ben Cohen and his long-time friend and business partner Jerry Greenfield are the men behind one of the most talked-about—and least conventional—success stories in American business. Co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., Ben has helped to build a storefront venture into a $300 million ice cream empire by making social responsibility and creative management strengths instead of weaknesses.

His book Values-Driven Business: How to Change the World, Make Money, and Have Fun provides a road map for starting a successful business that is environmentally and socially conscious. Using real-life examples, the books shows how “triple bottom line” practices—profits, people, and planet—have helped businesses thrive. Ben and his co-author, Mal Warwick, also address the varied roles of customers, employees, the community, the environment, shareholders, and owners.

With his best-seller, Ben & Jerry’s Double-Dip: How to Run a Values-Led Business and Make Money Too (co-authored with Greenfield), Ben created both a nuts-and-bolts guidebook to the promise and pitfalls of “values-led” business, and 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 their company’s 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 their pre-tax profits to nonprofit organizations through the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation,) 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.)

Ben has served on the boards of the Social Venture Network, Hampshire College, Oxfam, Greenpeace, and Business for Social Responsibility.

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SAP COMPANY

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Jordan Carlos was very very entertaining! A majority of students who answered the event survey indicated they really enjoyed Jordan and definitely will bring him back!

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