Hugh Grant

CEO & Chairman, Monsanto Company, Inc. Business Circle

Hugh Grant is the chairman and CEO of Monsanto Company, where he leads more than 20,000 employees in 67 countries who work to provide a broad range of solutions to help farmers nourish a growing world. Under his leadership, the company is focused on developing and advancing sustainable agricultural practices to help conserve the planet’s natural resources.

Hugh has worked in agriculture his entire career, beginning with a part-time job in college picking lettuce and tomatoes in the countryside of Scotland, to leading Monsanto Company as chairman and CEO for the past 13 years. Over his 35-year tenure with the company, he has worked for Monsanto on three continents, managing key elements of the global business and helping to diversify the company’s products and technology solutions.

Under Hugh’s leadership, Monsanto has been named to Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies multiple times, and the company is routinely recognized by national and global organizations for employee innovation and workplace satisfaction. He has also been recognized on Barron’s list of Most Respected CEOs, Harvard Business Review’s Top 50 Best Performing CEOs and as “CEO of the Year” by Chief Executive Magazine. In 2011, Hugh was inducted as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Hugh discovered a passion for science while studying agricultural zoology and molecular biology at Glasgow University. He recognized the potential for innovation to transform agriculture and went on to earn an advanced degree in agriculture at Edinburgh University and an MBA at the International Management Center in Buckingham.

Hugh and his family have made St. Louis their home for more than twenty years, and he is deeply committed to the progress and prosperity of the regional community. He is an active member of Civic Progress in St. Louis and serves on the board of trustees for Washington University in St. Louis.