Hugh Grant
2009 Man of the Year
A native of Larkhall, Scotland, Hugh Grant and his family have called St. Louis home for more than two decades. Grant is currently chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Monsanto Company, a global leader in the agricultural industry. Monsanto’s brands include DEKALB, Asgrow, Delta and Pineland, the Roundup Ready and YieldGard families of seeds and Roundup herbicides, the world’s No. 1 selling herbicides.
Hugh is a dedicated member of both the St. Louis and global community. At the heart of Monsanto’s operating philosophy is the application of innovation and technology to help farmers boost production and profits by offering products that help them produce more food, fiber and feed. Recognizing the increased demands a growing population and changing climate are placing on global agriculture, in 2008 the company committed to help farmers double the amount of corn, soybean and cotton crops they produce by 2030, while using less water and resources.
Grant spends much of the year visiting the company’s 500 locations worldwide, meeting with customers and stakeholders that touch global agriculture. He credits this time spent in communities throughout the United States and in rural Africa, South America and Asia with giving him an up-close view of the positive role agriculture plays in fighting poverty and malnutrition.
The company supports many local and international organizations that help provide a better life for families, and counts providing access to education as key way to positively affect our world. He is proud to be a part of Monsanto, a company with a longstanding commitment to giving back, and encourages all employees to actively participate in their community.
Hugh earned a bachelor’s of science degree in agricultural zoology with honors at Glasgow University, later earning post-graduate degrees in both agriculture and business administration at leading European institutions. He joined Monsanto Company in 1981 in Scotland, and throughout his career he has held leadership positions in Europe, Asia and United States. Grant became CEO in 2003 and during his tenure the company has more than doubled its revenues, almost tripled its gross profits, and nearly doubled the number of employees worldwide to 22,000. In December 2008, Monsanto was named one of Business Week’s World’s Most Influential Companies.
Grant serves as a director of PPG Industries, Inc. and is on the boards of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, CropLife International, is a member of the Board of Commissioners of the St. Louis Science Center, the Board of Trustees of Washington University, and is an international advisory board member of Scottish Enterprise. He also is a member of Civic Progress in St. Louis.