All About the People

From left, Ben, Rozanne, Ashli and Billy in Standard Meat’s offices in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

Our story begins in Fort Worth in 1935. Ben H. Rosenthal, a Russian Jewish immigrant, rents a single meat locker, buys some beef in the nearby stockyards, processes it, and sells it door-to-door to local clubs and hotels. He calls his venture Standard Meat Company.

Nearly a century later, Standard Meat Company is in its fourth generation of family ownership and the Rosenthal name is equally legendary in the food industry and the world of philanthropy, in Fort Worth, around Texas and across the country. Their secret recipe? “It’s all about the people.”

That was a lesson he learned from his grandfather, Ben, and from his father, Manny, an Aggie who became Standard Meat’s president in 1959 and hired Billy to work at the family business when he was just 14. Manny encouraged his son to follow in his footsteps and attend Texas A&M, but Billy had his heart set on getting a business education at The University of Texas at Austin.

While their paths diverged after Billy graduated and went to work in West Texas (“I used to say that was my MBA — Missouri Beef”), they reconnected a few years later and married in 1978. Just three years later, Billy became president of Standard Meat and began leading the company through decades of explosive innovation and growth that led to acquisition by Sara Lee and an early retirement in the 80s, a visionary relaunch of the Standard Meat in the mid-90s, partnership with Cargill, and the company’s return to full family ownership — under the co-presidency of Billy and Rozanne’s two oldest children, Ashli and Ben — in 2019.

Through it all, Billy credits just one thing for Standard Meat’s success. “It’s all about people: your friends, your suppliers, your customers, your employees,” he says. “Without those people, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Relationships are also the foundation of the Rosenthals’ lifelong commitment to philanthropy. “We were raised to believe that you need to set the example,” Rozanne says. “My dad used to tell me that there’s not a better feeling than giving to others,” Billy adds.

Last year, the Rosenthals brought their philanthropy full circle, back to the place where their chapter of the family story started: the Forty Acres. “My dad told me, ‘All my success started with the relationships I made in Austin. The friends I made there were always the ones behind the scenes pushing me to do great things,’” says Billy and Rozanne’s son, Ben. “There was always something in the back of my dad’s mind about Texas. And he really wanted to give back in a big way.”

“What’s a better way to give back than to something that gave us such an opportunity?” Billy asks. He and Rozanne decided to invest $25 million in the McCombs School of Business, which has renamed the Rozanne and Billy Rosenthal Department of Management in their honor. “I love people, and Rozanne loves people most,” Billy says. “And to me, that’s what management’s all about.

That department is going to be a living legacy that our kids, our grandkids and the next generations to come will see — not just our names, but the idea of giving back. If people don’t understand the importance of giving to others, they really don’t understand life. Rozanne and I have been successful in so many ways, but from that we’re able to do so much more for others. There’s nothing more fun than giving.”

The Rosenthal Department of Management

Billy and Rozanne’s gift will support research, teaching, students, faculty and academic efforts across the department, helping Texas McCombs make an even bigger impact on business’ biggest challenges.

“The Rosenthals’ passion for education and commitment to UT are inspiring. Their gift is going to provide so many valuable learning resources for business students like me.”
Calla Carlson, BBA ’26

“I was drawn to the Rosenthal Department of Management because of the prominent professors, the wide range of expertise and research interests, and the chance to live in an exciting and wonderful city like Austin. The Rosenthals’ investment will help our professors continue to do cutting-edge research and support the research and projects for students, too.”
Kendall Yamamoto, Ph.D. ’24