Cook Quits Presidency of Castle & Cooke

After just over a year as president and chief operating officer of Castle & Cooke, Robert D. Cook has resigned to start his own business, the company said.

Cook also stepped down as a director of Castle & Cooke and as president of its Dole Food Co. division.

He had been with Castle & Cooke for several years and was promoted to its presidency after his predecessor, Ian Wilson, was asked to resign as the company was struggling with financial difficulties. The company was merged last year with Flexi-Van, a New York-based transportation equipment leasing company controlled by financier David Murdock. Murdock is chairman and chief executive of Castle & Cooke.

“After a long career with several large public companies, I have an opportunity to start my own private company, which I wish to do,” Cook said in a statement.

Cook’s jobs won’t be filled. Instead, his duties will be reallocated to other executives.

Castle & Cooke, under a restructuring earlier this year, is now a holding company with three types of businesses--food through Dole, transportation equipment leasing through Flexi-Van and real estate through Oceanic Properties.