Shapiro, Robert B (1938– )

US business executive. Shapiro became Monsanto's chief executive in 1995, at a time of major changes in the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. He is best known for the leading role his company has taken in developing and selling genetically-modified (GM) seeds to the agricultural industry, which has faced fierce opposition in the courts and from communities in many countries. In 2000 he merged the company with Pharmacia & Upjohn and became chair of the renamed Pharmacia until he stepped down in February 2001. He has since become a cofounder and managing director of Chicago-based Sandbox Industries, which provides business development consultation services, and was a director of the New York Stock Exchange 2003–08.

Shapiro promoted the life sciences model that combined pharmaceuticals with food and agriculture and, in particular, the use of biotechnology to improve crop yields. Spinning off Monsanto's chemical businesses as Solutia, in 1997, he focused on the core agricultural business, forming strategic relationships with companies such as Asgrow Agronomics, a leader in soybean and corn seeds, in 1996. He made a series of acquisitions, including a 40% stake in DEKALB Genetics, the second largest US seed company, in 1997, which was later bought outright for $2.3 billion in cash in 1998. Shapiro then planned to merge Monsanto with cash-rich American Home Products; the deal collapsed, apparently because of differences between the two management styles, and Monsanto's share price fell by over 40% just as opposition groups, such as Greenpeace, were mounting campaigns against GM foods. As a prime target, Monsanto received a lawsuit in the USA in 1999, alleging that it had launched GM crops without first ensuring they were safe, and that the company was monopolizing the seed market.

Shapiro graduated from Harvard University with a BA in 1959, and from Columbia University School of Law with an LLB in 1962. He was an attorney with the New York law firm of Poletti, Freidin, Prashker, Feldman, and Gartner, and later a law professor at Northeastern University, and the University of Wisconsin from 1969 to 1971. He then joined General Instrument Corporation as vice-president and in-house lawyer until his move to G D Searle in an equivalent role in 1979. In 1982 he became president of Searle's NutraSweet Group, where he launched its artificial sweetener product. When Monsanto acquired Searle in 1985, Shapiro was appointed chief executive of NutraSweet, then executive vice-president of Monsanto's agricultural unit in 1990, and president and chief operating officer of the company in 1993 before he became chief executive.