William S. Bennet II

Who was William S. Bennet II?

William S. Bennet II was an American business executive who introduced Yoplait single-serving yogurt to the United States. He was the son of Augustus Witschief Bennet and Maxine Layne Bennet, and grandson of William S. Bennet.

Part of his early education was at North Junior High School in Newburgh, NY in 1946-47. Bennet served in the United States Army in Germany from 1952 to 1954. He graduated from Amherst College in 1958 and was married to Alice T. Bennet in June 1958. Bennet was President and CEO of Michigan Cottage Cheese from 1968 to 1978. He founded Yoplait USA in 1973, and introduced that yogurt to the U.S. market in 1974.

Bennet later served on the board of directors or advisors of Stoneyfield Farm Yogurt, The Country Hen, Grand Recipe Company, Inc., Intrinsic Solutions, Inc., Kettle Cuisine, Inc., BikeLink International and CityAccess.

He died on November 25, 2009, in Boston, Massachusetts. He had been diagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies. His remains were cremated and the ashes interred at the family plot in Squam Lake, New Hampshire.