Jerry Greenfield Biography Quotes 8 Report mistakes

Early Life and Education
Jerry Greenfield was born on March 14, 1951, in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up on Long Island in Merrick. He met Ben Cohen as a teenager in junior high, forming a friendship that would later become one of the most recognizable business partnerships in American food culture. Greenfield attended Oberlin College, graduating in 1973. He followed a pre-med track and applied to medical school more than once, but when those plans did not unfold as hoped, he worked as a laboratory technician. He spent time in labs in New York and North Carolina, gaining practical scientific experience that would later inform his meticulous approach to making ice cream.

Finding a Calling and Forming a Partnership
By the mid-1970s, Greenfield and Cohen reconnected with the idea of starting a small, community-oriented business they could run together. They considered a bagel shop but found costs prohibitive and pivoted to ice cream, a decision that combined Greenfield's comfort with measurement and process with Cohen's flair for creativity. They studied the craft through a correspondence course from Penn State and a short program at the University of Vermont, pooling modest savings and a bank loan to get started.

Founding Ben & Jerry's
In 1978, the pair opened their first scoop shop in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont. Greenfield managed operations and quality day-to-day, while Cohen focused on promotion and big ideas. This complementary division of labor became a hallmark of their partnership. Early on, they developed high-butterfat, richly textured ice cream packed with chunks and swirls. Cohen, who had a diminished sense of smell, gravitated toward textures, and Greenfield translated that sensibility into reliable production methods. As the menu expanded to include flavors like Cherry Garcia, Chunky Monkey, and New York Super Fudge Chunk, the brand cultivated a loyal following that connected the pleasure of indulgent desserts with a playful, socially aware voice.

Growth, Values, and Social Mission
Greenfield and Cohen built the company around the idea of linked prosperity: the belief that the success of the business should be shared with employees, suppliers, and communities. In the 1980s, they pioneered practices that were unusual for a growing national brand, including structured philanthropy, progressive workplace policies, and community engagement. The Ben & Jerry's Foundation, established in 1985, directed a portion of the company's pretax profits to grassroots organizations, reflecting Greenfield's conviction that enterprise and social responsibility could reinforce one another. Jeff Furman, a close adviser who would later chair the Ben & Jerry's board and help steward the social mission, became another key figure around the founders.

The company also fought to protect its access to distribution. In the mid-1980s, after facing market pressure from a large competitor that owned Haagen-Dazs, Ben & Jerry's launched the "What's the Doughboy Afraid Of?" campaign, turning a distribution dispute into a consumer movement. Greenfield supported the firm stance and worked to ensure production could keep pace as demand surged.

Public Offerings and Professionalization
To maintain community roots as they grew, Greenfield and Cohen structured an early stock offering limited to Vermont residents before going public nationally. Through rapid expansion in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Greenfield continued to be the steady hand inside the business, associated with quality control, manufacturing, and a data-driven approach. In 1988, he and Cohen were recognized as U.S. Small Business Persons of the Year, an honor that underscored how their unconventional model could succeed at scale. As the company matured, outside executives increasingly handled day-to-day leadership, allowing Greenfield and Cohen to focus on mission, culture, and public engagement.

Acquisition and Stewardship of the Mission
In 2000, Unilever acquired Ben & Jerry's in a deal that preserved the brand's social mission through unique governance provisions and an independent board focused on values. Greenfield did not return to corporate management after the sale, but he remained an ambassador for the company's ethos and an active figure in the Ben & Jerry's Foundation community. The arrangement ensured that the principles he had helped articulate would continue beyond founder control, a priority shared with Cohen and reinforced by board leaders such as Jeff Furman.

Advocacy and Public Life
After the acquisition, Greenfield devoted more time to speaking and writing about socially responsible business. With Cohen, he co-authored Ben & Jerry's Double-Dip: How to Run a Values-Led Business and Make Money Too, distilling lessons on mission-driven strategy. He also co-authored Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book, which popularized the brand's approach to flavor and technique for home cooks. Greenfield has frequently appeared with Cohen at universities, conferences, and community events to discuss corporate accountability, fair trade, climate action, democratic participation, and criminal justice reform. In 2016, both men were arrested during a peaceful demonstration in Washington, D.C., underscoring their willingness to tie personal action to public positions.

Personal Life
Greenfield has long made Vermont a home base, valuing the state's civic culture and the Burlington area where the business took root. He married Elizabeth Skarie, and their partnership has been a steady presence through the many phases of his professional life, from start-up struggles to national recognition. Friends and colleagues often describe Greenfield as thoughtful and even-keeled, a counterbalance to Cohen's exuberance, and the two have sustained a friendship that predates and outlasts their years running a company together.

Legacy and Impact
Jerry Greenfield's legacy intertwines entrepreneurial creativity with a durable social purpose. He helped demonstrate that a company known for delight and indulgence could also champion shared prosperity and civic engagement, and that rigorous attention to product quality could coexist with ambitious ideals. The people around him shaped that story: Ben Cohen as co-founder and co-strategist; Jeff Furman as a guardian of mission; and the employees, farmers, and community partners whose livelihoods were bound up in the enterprise's success. Decades after the first scoop shop opened, the cultural footprint of Ben & Jerry's remains large, and Greenfield's voice continues to influence debates about how business can serve both shareholders and society.

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