KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, US — Bob Petersen, a former president of the National Grain Trade Council (NGTC) and Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBOT), has announced his plans to retire. He will be succeeded at his firm, Petersen Consulting Services (PCS), by Erica Venancio as the firm’s senior executive.   

“I have been so fortunate to enjoy a 50-year career in agriculture working for and with some of the finest people, companies and associations there are,” Petersen said.

A native of Nebraska, Petersen spent 20 years in Washington, DC, US as president of the NGTC from 1980 to 2000. In 2000, he and his family re-located to Kansas City where he held several prominent roles, including president of the KCBOT (2000-04) and president of the American Royal (2010-15).  

After leaving the KCBOT in 2004, Petersen began his own consulting firm specializing in the management of agricultural non-profit trade associations.

Venancio, the firm’s incoming principal, is Petersen’s daughter. She joined the firm in 2008. Venancio is a summa cum laude graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University where she received undergraduate and graduate degrees in social work.  

“I am excited to continue the excellent work of our firm and look forward to the future with optimism,” Venancio said. “Working alongside Zach (Helder), I am confident in our ability to continue to meet our clients’ needs with an eye towards growth in the future. Bob has been an incredible mentor to me, personally and professionally, and I am deeply grateful for his guidance and support.”

Helder brings a decade of experience in agriculture, public policy and organizational management to PCS. He will assume many of the outward-facing responsibilities Petersen previously held. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of California — Los Angeles and a graduate degree from Princeton University.

Recently, he was senior ag adviser to Kansas Congresswoman Sharice Davids. As part of Helder’s graduate work at Princeton he led a bipartisan working group of former USDA secretaries and agribusiness leaders investigating the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine War on international trade and food security, and their findings were published in Foreign Affairs.