CIO Michael Friedlander Named Executive of the Year
The Magnum Ice Cream Company CIO is recognized for his strategy in scaling AI and cybersecurity across a $10 billion brand portfolio.
Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Business Strategy
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TIME named Michael Friedlander, CIO of the Americas at The Magnum Ice Cream Company, its 2026 Executive of the Year. The firm, a $10 billion entity spun out of Unilever in 2025, manages brands including Ben & Jerry's, Breyers, Magnum, and Klondike.
Why it matters
Friedlander’s leadership at the newly independent firm underscores the strategic importance of balancing AI infrastructure deployment with enterprise-grade cybersecurity frameworks. His approach to phased, market-by-market feature rollouts provides a model for managing technology adoption in large-scale, decentralized consumer brands.
The Magnum Ice Cream Company, currently valued at nearly $10 billion, operates under a strategy directed by Michael Friedlander following its 2025 separation from Unilever. The firm oversees a portfolio that includes Ben & Jerry's, Breyers, Magnum, and Klondike.
The players
Michael Friedlander
CIO of the Americas for The Magnum Ice Cream Company, recognized for his operational leadership in AI and cybersecurity integration.
The Magnum Ice Cream Company
A $10 billion consumer goods entity that manages major ice cream brands including Ben & Jerry's and Magnum following its 2025 spin-out from Unilever.
The details
Friedlander’s strategy for the Americas focuses on scaling AI-capable platforms through a staggered implementation approach, where features are toggled by specific regional market requirements. This framework is reinforced by significant investment in cybersecurity protocols designed to safeguard the company's technical environment and consumer brand equity across major accounts in the United States and Mexico.
Timeline
The Magnum Ice Cream Company completed its spin-out from Unilever in 2025.
Michael Friedlander was named TIME Executive of the Year in 2026.
Market Landscape
The leadership strategy follows the 2025 spin-out of The Magnum Ice Cream Company from Unilever, which established the company as a standalone $10 billion entity. The focus on AI and cybersecurity represents a departure from parent-company legacy systems to a model built for independent scale.
Operators should evaluate how their own technology rollouts manage the tension between aggressive AI deployment and the need for rigorous cybersecurity. Prioritizing phased regional testing, as seen in this strategy, can help identify technical friction before a full-scale deployment.
The takeaway
The success of this strategy demonstrates the effectiveness of a modular, market-by-market approach to technical infrastructure. Leaders should track how decentralized deployment reduces implementation risk compared to wholesale system changes.
Further reading
For more on evolving corporate leadership and technology integration, read our Business Strategy section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by TIME.
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