When U.S. Wheat Associates began looking for a new president, its search committee decided to look within the industry. In the end, the organization found its candidate inside its own ranks — Vince Peterson, its vice president of overseas operations.
The board unanimously approved Peterson for president during a meeting in Denver. He will succeed Alan Tracy, who announced in July that he will retire in July 2017 after 20 years as leader of U.S. Wheat, the export development wing of the wheat industry. Peterson has worked at U.S. Wheat for 31 years and spent his career in the grain trade.
“Protecting and expanding export demand for wheat has always been critical, but never more so than in this depressed market,” said U.S. Wheat chairman Jason Scott, praising Peterson as the ideal successor to Tracy considering his record in directing overseas marketing efforts for the organization. “This also represents a very practical way to make this transition,” said Scott.