Governor Bob Holden appointed Peter Hofherr as Deputy Director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture on February 1, 2001. As Deputy, Hofherr is responsible for managing the department’s five divisions and helping direct department policy.

Hofherr is also General Manager and Treasurer of his family business, St. James Winery. Established in 1970, St. James is one of Missouri’s oldest wineries. Hofherr handles business development and strategic planning for the winery, as well as government and industry relations. Under Hofherr’s guidance, the winery has increased production and revenues and doubled the size of its vineyards. St. James now markets more than 20 wines nationwide and abroad.

Prior to joining the winery on a full-time basis, Hofherr was a manager in Financial Advisory Services for Coopers and Lybrand, a Big Six accounting and consulting firm in Atlanta, where he served as a consultant for industry mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations. He was the lead staff consultant on hospitality, forensic accounting, litigation support and economic value-added projects and helped develop the firm’s corporate finance consulting practice.

From 1988 to 1992, Hofherr worked as a consultant on mergers and acquisitions for the Atlanta consulting firm BDO Seidman. He also provided analyses on failed leveraged buyouts for legal proceedings and initiated quality control and continuing learning programs.

Hofherr, a chartered financial analyst, holds a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Auburn University and a master’s degree in business administration from Georgia State University. He also studied international banking and finance at the University of London.

Hofherr is a member of the American Society of Enology and Viticulture, the Missouri Grape Growers Association, the Association for Management and Research and the Institute for Chartered Financial Analysts. He is a former member of the Missouri Soil and Water Conservation Districts Commission and serves on the state board of the Missouri Restaurant Association and the Missouri Grape and Wine Advisory Board. Hofherr is vice president of the Missouri Vinter’s Association and a member of the Phelps County Regional Health Care Foundation.

A native of St. Louis, Hofherr enjoys reading, traveling, wine tasting and gourmet foods.