Michael Friedlander Is one of TIME's 2026 Executives of the Year: Tech and Data - Time Magazine

Michael Friedlander has one of the rarest jobs in enterprise technology: building a nearly $10 billion company's entire IT backbone from scratch. As CIO of the Americas at The Magnum Ice Cream Company—spun out of Unilever in 2025 and home to Ben & Jerry's, Breyers, Magnum and Klondike—he's designing the tech stack out of thin air.  

He's installing AI-capable platforms but switching those features on gradually, market by market. Mexico's thousands of small direct-store customers need a very different setup to Walmart-scale U.S. accounts. “We don’t necessarily need to turn on all the AI capabilities right away, but it gives us a foundation to build on,” he says. “We've invested in cybersecurity and frameworks that allow us to make sure that our environment, reputation, and brand are protected.”

Friedlander has also become a pointed voice on "AI agent sprawl," arguing some companies have been quick to build custom agents before unleashing the potentials of the existing platforms they’ve already invested in: "Why build something new if we don't have to?"