For a New Brunswick-based company continuing its global growth plan, it recently became apparent that Cooke Inc. was going to need a bigger boat.
The company announced Monday it’s leasing more office space, this time within the Brunswick Square Office Tower, just down the street from its headquarters in Saint John.
Cooke Inc. noted in a release that it will be expanding its global head office operations, moving into 11,000 square feet of space located at One Germain Street.
Still one of the flagship buildings in its market, the 19-storey Brunswick Square Office Tower is located in the city’s prime central business district uptown.
The tower itself is part of the larger Brunswick Square Complex, all owned by Slate Asset Management.
Cooke hiring to meet expansion goals
The added space will be located on one floor and will initially accommodate approximately 60 employees from the company’s IT, enterprise resource planning and administrative departments.
In 2019, Cooke completed historic renovations to the former synagogue at 76 Carleton Street, converting it into three floors of office spaces and meeting rooms.
That property, and the company’s headquarters, located across the street at 40 Wellington Row, are now near capacity and the company’s continued growth meant that additional space was required.
Cooke has been actively recruiting and hiring to fill many IT, enterprise resource planning and administrative positions in response to its continued growth, according to Joel Richardson, Vice President of Public Relations for Cooke Aquaculture Inc.
Richardson told Huddle that the new office space in Brunswick Square Tower will free up much-needed space in Cooke’s other corporate headquarters buildings, “enabling the company to hire more business professionals,” he said.
Cooke currently has operations in 10 countries and a workforce of 10,000 employees worldwide and employs over 1,500 people in New Brunswick alone.
Richardson says that number will grow, with the company actively recruiting new employees in IT, logistics, accounting, finance and legal, in addition to several other roles, with Richardson sharing Cooke has been investing significant resources on employee recruitment locally, regionally and internationally to promote career opportunities, including in Saint John.
“We have more many positions available working on vessels, driving trucks, in our plants, or in an office setting – and we’ve been welcoming many newcomers, including Ukrainians to join our family company,” said Richardson in an email.
It is a familiar call for the company, where only months into the pandemic in 2020, it was also looking to fill several roles across the region.
Retaining current space
Richardson stated the company’s corporate global head office would remain at its Wellington Row address, with other corporate roles being spread across various locations in the uptown.
Cooke Aquaculture Inc., the company’s North American salmon farming division, will also continue to be headquartered in Blacks Harbour, N.B.
Richardson confirmed that Cooke Inc.’s Brunswick Square offices are ready now, with staff already moving in.
Tyler Mclean is a reporter with Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
