Vice President Finance
- Partner with the CEO to lead the finance and accounting function at Gold Leaf, a modern agricultural investment and farming company
- Serve as a key strategic partner to the CEO and executive leadership team across operations, acquisitions, and asset management
- Competitive base salary (DOE) + cash bonus + equity ownership; remote from California (Bay Area or Central Valley preferred)
About Gold Leaf
Gold Leaf is a modern agricultural investment and farming company. Since 2017, we have deployed ~$350M of capital to buy and operate ~12,000 acres of almonds, pistachios and dates in California and Arizona, making us a top ~25 grower of these crops globally. We are building this business for the long term, with the ambition to operate and compound for the next 30-50+ years.
Our Mission
Our North Star is to leave the world better than we found it. We invest in our team, so we can invest in differentiated, sustainable farming, so we can drive financial results. Our farm workers earn well above market with 100%-covered family healthcare, parental leave, and equity. A significant share of our farms are certified organic and regenerative. This approach has generated above-market returns for our investors over nearly a decade.
Where We're Going
We are entering what we believe is the most attractive moment to buy prime California farmland in a generation. The almond industry has been through its most difficult moment since the 1980s, creating a rare window for patient, well-capitalized buyers to acquire high-quality farms at attractive prices. We plan to be aggressive.
At the same time, we are building an operation that differentiates through A+ assets, an elite team, farming excellence, and technology. We pair rigorous operations with AI and agtech across the production stack. Our finance function is central to that effort, organizing the data we collect and enabling our farm teams to do more with less.
The Role
The VP Finance is a member of the executive leadership team and will lead Gold Leaf's finance and accounting function. You will serve as a key strategic partner to the CEO (Jack) and the leadership team, which includes our VP Operations, VP Cost of Production, Head of Acquisitions, and asset managers.
You will partner with the CEO on Gold Leaf's long-term capital structure. You will own the finance strategy, capital markets relationships, build a team to enhance FP&A capabilities, and drive integration with farm ops through a modern finance operating model. This is a deeply operational role.
You will spend meaningful time working directly with Asset Managers and Farm Managers to make their jobs easier. You will also support the CEO and investment team with the Board and investors though LP reporting, fund accounting, and investor administration are owned by the investment manager team. You will coach and mentor a strong Controller who owns the accounting function.
Key Responsibilities
This is not a traditional accounting or reporting-focused role. We are looking for a strategic finance leader who can build systems, shape decisions, and operate as a true partner to the business. At a dynamic and growing company, roles evolve. Initially, we expect the following split:
Strategic Finance & CEO Partnership (~40% of time)
- Partner with the CEO on long-term capital structure, capital allocation strategy, and building a differentiated agribusiness over the very long run
- Own Gold Leaf's debt strategy, lender relationships, and capital structure execution (facility selection, refinancing, covenant management)
- Partner with the VP Ops, VP Cost of Production and senior ops team on cost of production, performance by crop and region, and investment & operating decisions that drive CoP down
- Bring sharp financial analysis and independent judgment to the executive table, i.e. push back, test assumptions, make us better
Build a Scalable Modern Finance Function (~40% of time)
- Set and execute a multi-year vision for GLF's finance function. The default mindset should be to leverage technology, automation, and AI where it meaningfully improves speed, accuracy, or decision-making.
- Team & org design: Lead, manage, and hold accountable (LMA) the finance and accounting team. Design and build the team you need to deliver this vision. Source, recruit, develop, and retain talent with deliberate consideration for which roles sit in-house vs. with third-party partners vs. in software
- Systems & data: Own GLF's systems strategy, including NetSuite (ERP) and the surrounding stack (FP&A, financial and ops/farm data, reporting). Build financial systems and reporting that drive operational performance and that Farm Managers actually want to use. Rebuild what isn't working; deploy AI-native tools where they'll meaningfully improve speed, accuracy, or cost
- Process Improvement: Oversee GLF's core administrative processes, i.e. close, reporting, A/P, A/R, budget, forecast. Hold a high bar for efficient, light, documented, and followed SOPs
M&A Support & Capital Sourcing (~20% of time)
- Partner with the acquisitions team on deal financing through diligence support, deal structuring, and lender engagement for new acquisitions
Suggested Skills & Experience
If you have most but not all of the below, please apply anyway. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity in our team and culture.
Must-haves
- 7-10+ years of finance leadership, with meaningful time as a VP Finance, CFO, or senior finance executive at a performance-oriented business (PE/investor-backed, fast-growth, or similar)
- Background in a capital-intensive, asset-based or commodity business, i.e. farming, oil & gas, mining, operationally intensive real estate, or similar
- Proven experience acting as a strategic partner to a CEO and leadership team
- Experience designing and building a finance function for a growing business while enhancing the team's capabilities, systems, and processes
- Track record of operating as a true business partner, working directly with operators and end users to drive performance, not just reporting outcomes. Ability to earn trust from operators and energized by solving problems at the asset level, not only at the leadership team level
- Strong financial acumen, clear thinking, and sharp analytical judgment
- Ability to communicate clearly and directly in both written and verbal form
- Genuine interest in agriculture and in building a long-term business in ag; natural fit with an ag-type culture that is low ego, humble, down-to-earth, and informal
- Ability to be in California (Bay Area or Central Valley preferred) and to travel regularly to our farm locations: Sacramento, Modesto, Fresno, Bakersfield, and Kingman, AZ
- Bachelor's degree from an accredited university
Nice-to-haves
- Clear perspective on how AI and technology can reshape a finance function, with examples of applying or exploring these tools
- Experience in M&A and acquisition-led growth
The Ideal Cultural Fit
- Ownership mindset: energized by building and scaling a differentiated, long-term agricultural business
- Low ego, humble, down-to-earth, and direct
- Willingness to be candid, think critically, act differently, and embrace change
- Positive, high-energy, and a great human who will support and build on our culture