Pete Richter

Pete Richter is Cargill’s first chief customer officer, building the company’s customer-driven culture and leading strategies to accelerate organic growth. This includes a focus on aligning Cargill’s portfolio of solutions based on how our customers define success, building a culture of service excellence and equipping Cargill’s commercial, business and functional teams to solve customers’ unique challenges and accelerate their growth. In this role, Pete leads the Commercial Excellence (CE) COE focused on building Cargill’s commercial capabilities, and the Global Partner Group (GPG) organization focused on delivering differentiated customer-driven growth.

Since joining Cargill’s flour milling business more than 35 years ago, Pete has held a number of leadership roles across merchandising, sales and marketing, and as head of the Global McDonald’s Business Unit. In 2014, he initiated a consolidation effort to better serve all of Cargill’s foodservice customers, and bring Cargill’s world of expertise together to create distinctive value for them. 

A deep passion for developing world-class teams and talent drives Pete in his work. He believes the best way to unleash a team’s potential is to instill confidence by recognizing each individual’s strongest skills and qualities. 

Pete holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and marketing from the University of St. Thomas. Outside of Cargill, he sits on the board for Rahr Corporation and the Walser Automotive Group Board of Advisors. A native of Illinois, Pete and his wife Sara live in the Minneapolis area and enjoy spending time with their three kids – Madeline, Bennett and Ellie.