Limoneira CEO to speak on developments

(VENTURA, Calif. – Jan. 20, 2020) The president and CEO of Limoneira will discuss the company’s residential and agricultural developments at the March 6 California Lutheran University Corporate Leaders Breakfast in Ventura. 

Harold Edwards will present “Limoneira: Cultivating Communities” at the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach Hotel. Breakfast and networking will begin at 7:30 a.m., and Edwards’ talk will follow from 8 to 9 a.m.

Limoneira was founded in 1893 and given a name that means lemon lands in Portuguese. At the time, its primary crops were Valencia oranges and walnuts. Today, Limoneira is a global agribusiness concern with multimillion-dollar real estate and resource investments. The Santa Paula-based company has 14,500 acres throughout California that produce lemons, avocados, oranges, specialty citrus, pistachios, pluots and cherries. 

The company also has a long history of building live-walk-work neighborhoods. In 2017, it broke ground on Harvest at Limoneira, which will add about 1,500 houses and apartments, an amphitheater, and health care and commercial facilities on 500 acres along the Highway 126 corridor. Harvest at Limoneira is the only large master-planned community project approved by voters since Ventura County’s SOAR initiative was implemented in 1991. 

Since 2009, Limoneira has given more than $2.5 million to support schools and community and industry organizations in Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Tulare counties and Yuma, Arizona. The company funds organizations and projects that promote economic, social and cultural vitality in the communities in which its employees live and work. 

Edwards has served as the president and CEO of Limoneira since 2004. Before joining Limoneira, he was the president of Puritan Medical Products, a division of Airgas Inc. He has held management positions with Fisher Scientific International Inc., Cargil Inc., Agribrands International and the Ralston Purina Co. He is a member of the boards of directors of Compass Group Diversified Holdings LLC and Calavo Growers Inc., both Nasdaq-listed companies. Edwards is a graduate of Lewis & Clark College and Thunderbird School of Global Management, where he earned a master’s in business administration.

The breakfast series brings members of the business and civic communities together to hear from prominent leaders. The 2019-2020 schedule will conclude on May 5 with a presentation in Thousand Oaks by Drew West of The Trade Desk on managing the digital advertising technology firm’s rapid growth.

Reservations are requested by March 2. To RSVP, contact Sharon Nelson at smnelso@callutheran.edu. For more information, go to callutheran.edu/clb.