Meet Your APPMA Staff

Bob Vetere, APPMA’s President

In this new Advisor feature, one APPMA staff member will be profiled each quarter to give you an opportunity to get to know them better. We will take a look at what each individual within the association is doing to serve members and the pet industry. To kick off this series, we proudly introduce you to APPMA President Bob Vetere.

Recently named APPMA’s President, Bob Vetere joined APPMA in 2002 as the association’s COO and Managing Director. Since that time he has made his mark in the industry as APPMA’s chief spokesperson with guest columns in publications including Pet Business and Pet Product News and television appearances on such acclaimed shows as CNNFN, ABC’s World News Tonight, and CNBC. He has also been quoted in publications including USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, and has become a frequent guest speaker with Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., a leading global investment banking, securities trading and brokerage firm.

Always one to look at the big picture, Bob has led a massive effort to create an industry coalition charged with unifying the industry to come together for a common good. Further, he has played an integral role in developing “The Retail Pet Industry Animal Care Guidelines” to help pet retailers implement voluntary operating procedures to improve animal care.

In speaking about the importance of these guidelines, Bob said, “To continue to improve the lives of pets and their owners, the industry must aspire to the highest levels of responsibility and excellence, and these guidelines are an important step. Retailers that adopt the procedures outlined in the guidelines will help ensure that their animals receive appropriate care and handling, and will demonstrate to the public that their facilities are professionally and responsibly managed.”

Responsible for all APPMA operations, Bob has led the way for positive change within the association as well. Since he has come on board, The APPMA and PIDA Shows have combined to become Global Pet Expo, the largest annual pet products trade show in the world. He has also supported significant changes in member benefits with the development and implementation of a marketing plan that focuses on garnering positive media exposure not only for APPMA but for its members and their products as well. This has resulted in stories on HGTV, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Prevention magazine, and other prestigious media outlets touting our member’s products to millions of American consumers. Other member benefit additions under Bob’s lead include the Member Resource Guide, e-version of The Advisor, pet industry calendar, member benefit teleconferences and webinars, and increased sponsorship opportunities at GPE. On a day-to-day basis at APPMA, Bob assures sound financial operation, and works in collaboration with members, the Board of Directors, staff and other industry associations to support and further the interests and success of APPMA members.

“I can truly say that I never know what each day will bring when I step into my office. The incredible growth in our industry is matched with some real challenges and opportunities for APPMA, its members and the industry as a whole. In my four years with the association, I have seen us grow from about 650 members to more than 900.”

He added, “Certainly the growing global interest in our industry drives these numbers, but I truly believe the people behind our association - the people that make the trade show a reality, the people that return every phone call to members to make sure they get the most from their membership - play a significant role in APPMA’s growth and why more and more people see the correlation between being an APPMA member and the potential for success. And speaking of our members, I am constantly blown away by their innovation and response to meeting the needs of consumers, and above all their dedication to continuing to develop products that enhance the experience of being a pet owner,” Bob said.

Prior to joining APPMA, Bob served as senior vice president, administration, general counsel and secretary at Oil-Dri Corporation of America, a publicly traded $175 million international developer, manufacturer and marketer of brand name and private label products for pets, fluids purification and agriculture. Bob’s management responsibilities encompassed the areas of human resources, facilities management, law, environmental health and safety, product compliance, payroll, corporate safety, permitting and government relations. His achievements at Oil-Dri range from restructuring the Law and Human Resource departments to successfully negotiating a new labor contract with the United Steelworkers Union.

Prior to his position at Oil-Dri, Bob spent 25 years at First Brands Corporation, a $1.2 billion publicly traded manufacturer and marketer of consumer products, including GLAD Wrap and Bags, Prestone Anti-Freeze, and Scoop Away and Jonny Cat Pet Litter. While at First Brands Corporation, Bob held a number of positions including associate general counsel/director of government relations, senior corporate counsel, corporate director of professional development and senior corporate staff engineer.

Bob earned a Juris Doctor from Seton Hall School of Law, an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a B.S. in Management Science, also from R.P.I.

He is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the New Jersey State Bar Association, and the American Society of Association Executives.

Bob, along with his wife and Golden Retriever Dakota, reside in South Windsor and Stamford, Connecticut. In his free time, Bob enjoys catching Giants football games with his two sons, and golfing with friends and family.