Ben & Jerry's CEO: Democracy is on the ballot, and business must show up
By Jochanan Senf
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October 31, 2026, 7:30 AM ET
Jochanan Senf is the CEO of Ben & Jerry’s.
Courtesy of Ben & Jerry’s
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Ben & Jerry’s, a Vermont-based global company, has a long history of campaigning for democracy. We believe that businesses have a responsibility to uphold democracy and empower communities to participate in it.
Any slide toward authoritarianism threatens the economic environment every business depends on. Ben & Jerry’s operates based on the model of Linked Prosperity, believing that a business’s success should be measured by both economic and community value. We rely on strong, stable communities, and those communities depend on institutions like free and fair elections.
Now, these institutions are under threat. Many people feel disconnected from politics, uncertain if their voices matter. Ben & Jerry’s has been actively involved in supporting voting rights and Black voter participation through various initiatives.
We work with partners who understand these issues deeply, and our approach is to put Ben & Jerry’s reach and resources behind their work and engage our fans as well.
I won’t pretend that balancing a social mission with a product and economic mission is easy. Since the beginning, there has been debate about what our social mission should be.