President

Beginning in 2002, Bob Vetere served as APPA’s COO and Managing Director and has recently been named President of The Association. Since that time he has made his mark in the industry as APPA’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.

Responsible for all association operations, 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 APPA members.

Before joining APPA, 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.