A Fond Farewell
Well, I guess there’s no need to bury the lede: I have taken a new job. It’s big, exciting, and impactful – this summer I’ll be taking on the position of social mission director for Ben & Jerry’s.
(You may have picked up on some of the Easter eggs I’ve been dropping over the past few issues with some coverage of Ben & Jerry’s.)
The story of how this came to be is interesting all the more for its organic and unintentional nature.
It starts with meeting one of Ben & Jerry’s founders.
I first met Ben Cohen in November 2019 at a fun Social Venture Circle event at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, CA. (Social Venture Circle has since become part of American Sustainable Business Network.)
You'll notice that this date was just before Covid broke out. Ben and I hit it off at the conference and kept it going in periodic pandemic zoom calls and through the years thereafter. We share a few things in common: Generationally, we were both born in the 50s. We both certified our companies as B Corps and believe in the power of injecting personal values into business and actively using them to effect social change. (Granted, Ben & Jerry’s is just a little bit bigger and has made much larger impacts than Oliver Russell. 😉)
So, back in January, I got an email from Ben wondering if I might consider an open role at Ben & Jerry’s: social mission director. Not what I expected out of my inbox that day. Hmm…I thought…That’s, well, kind of interesting. I talked with my wife, Sarah, about it. She had a few questions for me. (Later she would have LOTS of questions for me.) We decided to move forward with the process, which culminated in a job offer last week and an impending move to Vermont later this summer.
(Quick aside, I’ve often said that I should be a Vermonter as my disposition matches the politics and the people I’ve met from the Green Mountain State, far more so than the Deep Red of Idaho, and I’m definitely more a “Feel the Bern” than “Feel the Crapo <Mike Crapo, Idaho’s Senior U.S. Senator> kind of guy.)
As social mission director, I’ll be leading a team of six spearheading the company’s social and environmental impact programs, ranging from B Corp certification to the its many deep social cause initiatives. Thankfully, ageism isn’t a thing at Ben & Jerry’s which is what allows a 66-year-old guy like me to get hired for a role like this. I’ve signed a three-year contract after which the company and I will both be able to reassess the match and the future needs of the position.
It's also a bookend of sorts, as I began my career working in the corporate world in investor relations for a public company and will now end it in the corporate world. If you can call working at Ben & Jerry’s “corporate.”
I’m looking forward to exploring New England and living relatively close to friends Kate Williams (1% for the Planet), John Kim (University of Vermont Grossman School of Business), and Dr. Marlene Tromp, the latter of whom has been Boise State University’s president for the past 5+ years and recently accepted the role of president at the University of Vermont. (Does that make her your new boss, John?)
And as a lifelong Erg machine rower, I’m also totally psyched to visit the mothership at Concept2 headquarters in Burlington.
As I said at the start: Big. Exciting. And Impactful.
Oh, a skosh intimidating, too.
And bittersweet. I’ll be leaving behind so many friends from Idaho as I venture to Vermont. And I’ll also need to give up publishing Godspeed as part of the deal. I’ll continue writing and publishing Godspeed through May and will move to Burlington in June.
It all makes me think that perhaps the selection two+ years ago of Godspeed as the name for this newsletter was the universe at work, a harbinger of things to come.
I know you will wish me Godspeed on this new journey.
Godspeed, friends.
Russ
P.S. When looking at this year’s editorial calendar it was super hard NOT to notice that this year April 1 conspicuously fell on a scheduled publishing date for Godspeed. The harder part was figuring out what sort of a prank to play. April Fools, my friends. How'd I do?
💬 Think About It
“Vermont is a country unto itself.” Pearl S. Buck, American writer
✍🏼 National Poetry Month
April is not only the cruelest month, as T.S. Eliot once wrote, it's also National Poetry Month. As we periodically drop a stanza or two here in Godspeed, be prepared for a wee bit more this month.
💥 Quick Hits
• Impact eyes a corner office in the U.K. – Keir Starmer's government is considering creating an Office for the Impact Economy.
• Can farmer-founded brands save fashion? – Hitch up your britches and find out here.
• Why do Republicans want Trump to save Biden's Clean Energy Credits? – It's all about the (local) economy, dummy, and life inside the pork barrel.
Find the Most Meaningful Work of Your Career
Our partner One Work has you covered with meaningful work that goes beyond a paycheck, a cubicle, or a weekly team Zoom call. You'll find purposeful jobs like those below, along with many more at the One Work job board.
• Crusoe - Robinson they're not, but they're building their own island in the sky, a cloud infrastructure company powering data centers entirely by renewable energy. Senior Content Marketing Manager, San Francisco, CA.
• Rescue Agency - Love the name of this company, which helps government agencies and nonprofits create campaigns that drive health behavioral change. Integrated Campaign Strategist, REMOTE.
• Hanson Bridgett - A law firm that's a B Corp? Now that's a amicus brief we can get behind writing. Director of Recruiting, San Francisco or Los Angeles, CA.
Need help in some way? Have a story idea, question, or request? Perhaps a social entrepreneur we should interview? Let us know – We're here to help. Just reply to this email with whatever you've got. We'll see you next week.