Fred "Chico" Lager

Background

Fred "Chico" Lager was born circa 1955 in New York City, New York, United States.

Education

In 1975 Fred "Chico" Lager received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Vermont and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California in 1977.

Career

After receiving his graduate degree, Fred "Chico" Lager returned to Vermont where he owned and operated Hunt’s, a successful nightclub. In 1982, he joined Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., after selling a nightclub located near the ice cream company’s headquarters in Burlington, Vermont, as the company’s general manager and chief financial officer, with responsibility for managing the company’s operations and finances. He was named president and chief executive officer in 1988. In the beginning in 1990, he was a consultant and member of the board of directors. Lager resigned from active employment with Ben & Jerry’s in 1991.

Fred has been self-employed as a consultant since 1991, providing management oversight to a select number of emerging small businesses, and helping entrepreneurs develop and implement the marketing, operating and strategic plans necessary to grow their businesses profitably. In 1995, Lager was a featured speaker, making presentations at colleges and to business groups throughout the country about Ben & Jerry’s unorthodox approach to business. He has served on the Boards of Whole Foods Market, Working Assets and Seventh Generation. He was a chair of the Flynn’s Center for the Performing Arts Board from 2008 to 2011. He also serves on the Board of the Flynn Center in Burlington, Vermont. Currently he and his wife live in Williston, Vermont in a farmhouse that was built in 1841, which they spent eight years restoring.

Achievements

• Fred "Chico" Lager is best known for his service as a CEO of Ben & Jerry’s. While he was on this position, the company grew from sales of under $1 million to over $77 million and was recognized as one of the most innovative and socially responsible businesses in the world.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Ben & Jerry's: The Inside Scoop: How Two Real Guys Built a Business with a Social Conscience and a Sense of Humor

    (A former CEO of Ben & Jerry's tells how two '60s holdover...)

    1995

Connections

Since 1982 Fred "Chico" Lager has been married to Yvette Pigeon.

Spouse:

Yvette Pigeon

References

• Contemporary Authors
  1998