It was around the third or fourth time he crashed, Greg Ansbro decided it was time for a change. He was racing with a local cycling group in the Philadelphia area and had a young daughter at the time. “I was competing in 50-mile road races, which typically took between an hour and two hours to complete, but realized I was getting older and it was taking longer for my injuries to heal,” said Ansbro. The amateur races were perilous because it was every man for himself and if one cyclist made a mistake it could cause a whole group of them to wipe out and get hurt.

Greg Ansbro,
Principal

In search of a more meaningful way to test his limits, Greg turned to riding even longer distances. With a mixture of humor and determination he shared: “I still wanted a bicycle challenge and came across this group called Pacific Atlantic Crossing and thought that would be fun! I can sit on a bike all day. I’m stupid enough to suffer through this.” In search of adventure, he took a leap of faith and signed up for his first coast-to-coast bike ride from San Diego, California to Tybee Island, Georgia. The only person he would be competing against this time was himself.

The 3,000-mile journey, which started in San Diego on his birthday where he nearly died from heat exhaustion in the desert, was full of many memorable highlights. One was the Talihina Parkway, which runs along the ridges of the Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas. Reflecting on the challenge, Greg remarked: “It was about 10,000 feet of climbing in about, I don’t know, 50, 60 miles straight up and down. I always joked if we had a local 50-mile loop, that would be the one I would want.” Through all the ups and downs, it was the support of his fellow riders that kept him moving forward to the Atlantic Ocean.

In time, Greg completed two additional coast-to-coast rides, each on a different route. Today, he finds himself on a new but equally challenging adventure: opening a new office for Cuhaci Peterson in the Mountain Biking Capital of the World, Bentonville, Arkansas. “I’m probably more excited about this than going to a big city. I think this presents a much bigger challenge to go to the middle of the country, try to engage with a different culture, engage with different mindsets,” said Ansbro. In addition to having his eyes on a new gravel bike, Greg’s focus is on attracting talent aligned with CP’s values. Inspired by late cofounder Lonnie Peterson’s Nebraska farm roots, Cuhaci Peterson continues to embrace a roll-up-your-sleeves culture. It is a mindset Greg shares as he builds the Bentonville office: “I’m originally from the Midwest and have some of those Midwest values. I’m expecting that some of those mid-central values or mid-south values in Arkansas will be similar.”

Opening a new office in Bentonville, which has the distinction of being home to Walmart and one of the fastest-growing cities in America, is an exciting opportunity to create something special. “We are obviously going to have a presence there for Walmart, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other opportunities with the growth that’s going on in Northwest Arkansas,” said Ansbro.

Embracing the challenge ahead, Greg Ansbro draws leadership lessons from cycling: “Riding your bike hundreds of miles, you just got to go one mile at a time. So, you help other people, you help your friends, you know, whether you push them along or pull them or just give them some encouragement. We all have our good days, and we all have our bad days, but we all support each other. It’s really about persistence. Keep moving forward. You know, and a lot of those types of mentalities apply to our business. You’re going to have tough times and how you approach those tough times and how you get through them certainly apply to our everyday work life.”

When asked what Lonnie Peterson would say if he were alive today, Greg reflected: “I think of Lonnie the adventurer. I never really worked with Lonnie, but I heard a lot about Lonnie’s expeditions. I think Lonnie would approach this like a new adventure. You’ve got the Ozarks there. You got a lot of hiking, mountain biking and gravel cycling. I’m planning to use those opportunities to meet people.”

Greg Ansbro serves as a Principal at Cuhaci Peterson, where he works with sector leadership and business development to cultivate client relationships, pursue new projects and oversee office operations. With more than 30 years of experience in architecture and engineering, he previously served as a program director leading cross-disciplinary teams. Greg holds a Bachelor of Architecture from The Ohio State University and focuses on the convenience and restaurant sectors. In his spare time, Greg remains an active cyclist, riding with friends from his cross-country adventures and with colleagues at Cuhaci Peterson, participating with Team CP in events like the Tour de Cure, which benefits the American Diabetes Association and the Foster 100, supporting life-saving service dogs for injured and disabled veterans.

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