Hello HVB,
Nice to hear from you, as always.
As for tracking down information on your man, let's start with the
spelling of his last name -- MURDOCK -- although there are many, many
references to the misspelled name Murdoch, so it's probably worth
while to search on both variations.
According to the "Biography Resource Center" (from Galenet), David
Murdock, born in 1923, has his fingers in an awful lot of pies.
Besides DOLE, Castle and Cook, and pretty much the entire island of
Lanai, he also has huge involvement in: Atlantic American Properties,
the largest landowner in Kannapolis, North Carolina; Huntington Tile
(he made some of his early fortune in the tile business); Murdock
Development Corporation; and truck-chassis lessor Flexi-Van Leasing.
A school-dropout, Murdock made his mark after WWII in construction and
banking, amassing his first fortune before being almost wiped out by
the bear market of 1964 -- poor guy was down to his last million, but
he (obviously) bounced back, through investments in tile
manufacturing, real estate, and other businesses.
His mailing address is 1 Dole Dr., Westlake Village, CA USA 91362.
Phone: (818)874-4000. Want to send him a fax..? Try (818)879-6615.
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According to a 2002 Delaney Report (a business publication), not all
is paradise at the Dole Food Co. "Murdoch [sic] has no succession
strategy in place and continues to run the company through fear.
"Everyone is afraid of him and petrified of his wrath. No real
decisions are made because people are frightened of offending him..."
...DFC remains a stodgy company with its marketing...The marketing
people aren't aggressive, the sales force isn't aggressive, and it
won't aggressively price. It's all about not taking any risks..."
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Murdock, in addition to being CEO, essentially bought the entire Dole
operation last year, a move that has not enthralled analysts:
http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2003/04/30/rtr957601.html
Moody's cuts Dole Food Co snr implied rating
Reuters, 04.30.03
"The downgrade reflects the significant increase in debt and reduction
in financial flexibility following the leveraged buyout of Dole by its
chairman David Murdock."
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I hope this gives you a bit of the overview you were looking for. If
there's anything more in the way of specifics I can provide, don't
hesitate to post a Request for Clarification. You can find out much
more about Mr. Murdock through a simple Google search, but of course,
I'd be happy to do this for you myself...you only need ask.
Cheers.
pafalafa-ga |
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