Ben Cohen

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are the men behind one of the most talked-about, and least conventional success stories in American business. Founders of Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc., they have built a store front venture into a $200 million publicly-held ice cream empire by making social responsibility and creative management strengths instead of weaknesses.

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 non-profit 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). They also received the James Beard Humanitarians of the Year award in 1993 and the Peace Museum's Community Peacemakers of the Year award in 1997. They are active in the Social Venture Network and in Businesses for Social Responsibility. They also serve on the boards of Oxfam America, Hampshire College and Lead USA.

With their national bestseller, Ben & Jerry's Double-Dip: Lead with Your Values and Make Money, Too, they have 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 conscious" or "mission driven" corporation. Bringing all of this to life at the lecture podium, their exclusive presentation through GTN delivers a rousing tribute to America's entrepreneurial spirit, full of hilarious anecdotes and radical business philosophy. It also addresses the great sense of fun that is the company's hallmark, illustrated with the serving of Ben & Jerry's ice cream for the entire audience.