CAFNR: Executive-in-Residence

Future Students | Current Students | Alumni | Community & Friends

Home | A-Z Index

Related Information

Joseph C. Roetheli Biography

Joseph C. Roetheli

One day in 1996, a U.S. Agriculture Department employee's life changed forever when he responded to his wife's request and went to the basement in search of a cure for the family dog's terrible breath.

That effort resulted in a chewable dog treat named Greenies®, a product that exploded on the pet market and made Joseph and Judy Roetheli among the nation's most admired entrepreneurs.

Between its conception and sale to the Mars candy company in 2006, the family's S&M NuTec rocketed into becoming the eighth largest pet food/treat company in the world with sales in more than 60 countries. More than 750 million Greenies® were sold under the Roethelis' leadership.

Today, Roetheli is CEO of several entrepreneurial companies including Key Companies & Associates, THE SPA Tuscano™, Ace of Hearts BBQ Specialties™, Simple Man Products™, MySYZYGY and MSJJ Holdings. He also directs The Roetheli Lil' Red Foundation.

Roetheli received a B.S. and Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources where he was honored with the Citation of Merit.

Roetheli served on the faculty of MU and the University of Idaho. He spent a decade with the Tennessee Valley Authority where he helped create and manage a renewable energy program.

In 1988, Roetheli began working for the Department of Agriculture where he drafted legislation and later was appointed Deputy Director of the Alternative Agricultural Research and Commercialization Center. This is likely the only federal program ever authorized to make equity investments in private firms. It assisted in commercializing new products from agricultural materials rather than just giving grants or paying farmers to idle their land.

Roetheli's research abilities set the stage for the creation of Greenies®. He is considered one of the world's experts on new crops and industrial uses of agricultural materials. He was lead author of "Biomass" in the Encyclopedia of Agricultural Sciences and served as a guest editor of the International Journal of Bioresource Technology. He co-authored two chapters of the 1992 Yearbook of Agriculture.

In 2005, Roetheli was appointed to the 10th District Federal Reserve's Economic Advisory Council. In 2005, S&M NuTec was honored as the best small business in greater Kansas City, and was also honored with The Stevie Award as the best overall company in America with under 100 employees by The American Business Association.

Through the Lil' Red Foundation, Roethelis are funding a Food for the Poor project in Jamaica to build two villages with a total of 100 homes for the homeless. The foundation also has provided computers for another village and is working with MU on implementing a statewide program of pet therapy for the elderly. It also supports entrepreneurship at the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

The Roethelis have 2 sons—both college graduates and in public service. Joe and Judy live in northwest Missouri and enjoy walks around a lake, watching cattle graze on the nearby pasture, work and travel.