Purpose in the deep freeze

Ice-cream is a seasonal business — except if you're the CEO of Unilever, in which case it’s year-round.

- Barney Macintyre

Fernando Fernandez, the new boss of the Marmite and Magnum-maker, has inherited a turnaround plan that so far has involved 6,000 job cuts, three chief executives in as many years, and the looming spin-off of its ice cream unit.

But there’s trouble in the frozen section. The independent board of Ben & Jerry's, the Vermont-based ice-cream brand Unilever acquired in 2000, has accused the company in US court filings of trying to "silence" the social mission enshrined in its merger agreement and of firing its CEO because of his progressive politics.

Unilever has fired back, saying the board advocated “one-sided, highly controversial, and polarising topics” that put both companies and their employees at risk. It’s investigating the finances of Ben & Jerry’s charitable foundation and up to $5 m in grants to progressive and pro-Palestinian groups, sources say.

During a results call on Thursday, Fernandez was forced to defend the investigations. Throw in tariffs and it’s clear that Fernandez’s task is no bowl of Cherry Garcia.

Unilever was in the vanguard of purpose-driven business, long before it was fashionable. Lord Leverhulme, the19th-century soap magnate, enshrined public values in the company's culture by building a village for his workers. More recently, former CEOs Paul Polman and Alan Jope also pledged to do well by doing good.