Governor Bob Holden

Since completing a career in elective office that culminated in 12 years in statewide office as Treasurer and then Governor of Missouri, Bob Holden has focused on working to increase public understanding of the impact of globalization on the Midwest and what the Midwest needs to do to maintain its influence in the world economy.

He is the founder and leader of the Holden Public Policy Forum at Webster University and is a member of Webster’s teaching faculty. He serves as Chairman of the Midwest US-China Association, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that encourages commerce between 12 states in the Midwestern United States and China. He established the One Bright Future Foundation, a not-for-profit public policy organization, as a vehicle for his continuing public policy work.

Gov. Holden provides business consulting services through The Holden Group, LLC, a Midwest enterprise focused on promoting and developing new initiatives that improve the public good. Projects include consultation for the Midwest Governors’ Association, work with private developers and transportation industry clients, and economic investment development.

Born in Kansas City, and raised in rural Birch Tree in the Ozark Hills of southern Missouri, Gov. Holden graduated from Southwest Missouri State University with a degree in political science. He also completed coursework for government executives at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.