Dole Food Co. is growing its business in the Charlotte region.
The agricultural company, the world's largest grower and distributor of fruits and vegetables, has been scouting office space in uptown Charlotte, according to multiple commercial real estate sources. The Westlake Village, California-based company has been moving top executives, including the CEO and chief financial officer, to Charlotte.
William Goldfield, a spokesman for Dole, said on Monday that the company is incorporated in North Carolina and has had sales and marketing units in Kannapolis for a number of years as well as salad-plant operations in Bessemer City.
"Recently, the company has moved some additional functions and personnel, including members of the C-suite, to the greater Charlotte area," Goldfield said.
Confirmation of additional details, such as number of jobs, expected investment or scope of the operation planned for Charlotte, were not provided. A spokeswoman for the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance said the group isn't able to comment on the possibility of projects when reached Monday.
Several clues and real estate sources indicate the local office is likely to be modestly sized — around 12,000 to 15,000 square feet — but significant in decision-making power and salaries.
A Mecklenburg County construction permit filed for 200 South Tryon lists "Dole Headquarters" as its project name, but it wasn't immediately clear whether a lease had been signed there.
Job postings on Dole's website indicate several senior and finance positions could be Queen City bound. For Charlotte specifically, jobs posted within the past 10 days include an administrative assistant to the CFO; a senior financial analyst, which is a position that reports to the director of financial planning and analysis; a senior manager of credit and leasing; and a senior manager of financial reporting. Jobs for Dole posted more than a month ago for Charlotte, found on a general search, include a risk manager and a director of internal audit.
Dole is no stranger to the Charlotte region. The company, owned by billionaire David Murdock, has a 10,000-square-foot nutrition research lab at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, which Murdock developed. Job functions there include administration, sales, marketing, nutrition and food safety. In 2016, Kannapolis City Council approved $100,000 in incentives for Dole to bring 19 jobs to the research campus.
Dole also employs hundreds at a large salad-production plant in Bessemer City in Gaston County.
Johan Linden was appointed Dole Food's CEO in 2017 after previously serving as the company's chief operating officer. Mecklenburg County real estate records show a Johan and Karin Linden purchased a home in Myers Park in September for nearly $2.5 million, though CBJ has not independently verified whether the buyer is the same Johan Linden as the Dole executive.
Also in September, Dole sold its California headquarters to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation for $50 million, according to L.A. Biz, a sister publication of the CBJ. It was reported at the time of the sale that Dole had kept its headquarters at that 168,000-square-foot building for at least 20 years and planned to continue to occupy a portion of it.
In 2017, Murdock had plans to take Dole Food public after a $400 million initial public offering but ultimately scrapped that in January 2018. In July, a 45% equity stake of Dole was sold to Ireland-based Total Produce for $300 million.