The president and CEO of Monsanto Company, Hugh Grant, yesterday announced his intention to leave Monsanto at the close of the acquisition of Monsanto by Bayer AG. Grant will maintain his position as chairman and CEO until the close, and will continue to focus on leading the company in its primary goals of securing agreement approval and meeting its underlying business priorities. Bayer continues to aim for the close in the second quarter of 2018.

"It has been a sincere privilege to have been CEO of Monsanto during this period of extraordinary growth and transformation within our business," Grant said. "I am proud of what we have delivered and I look forward to what the future holds for this organization."

Mr. Grant has worked in agriculture throughout his career, beginning with a part-time job at the university in Scotland, until leading Monsanto as president and CEO since 2003. During his 35 years at the company, he worked for Monsanto. on three continents, managing the key elements of the global business and helping to diversify the company's products and solutions for producers.

"On behalf of the Monsanto Board of Directors, I want to acknowledge and thank Hugh for his extraordinary leadership at Monsanto," said Bob Stevens, Principal Director of Monsanto. "It has been an honor to work with him over the past 15 years and to see how he helped shape not only Monsanto, but also the agricultural industry in general." Hugh's unwavering commitment to Monsanto's employees and customers has been key drivers of the outstanding culture that he and his team have built, his leadership and legacy will undoubtedly be felt in the coming years. "

"The combination with Bayer will be a historic day for Monsanto, reinforcing the value of our business and the extraordinary foundation that our global team of more than 20,000 employees has built over the years," Grant added. "While I made the decision to seek new opportunities after the close of the transaction, I will continue to advocate for agriculture and I always hope to be a voice in the conversation." My enthusiasm and excitement for what awaits Bayer, and the opportunity the company combined will have to support producers in their effort to be more productive, more profitable and more sustainable, is stronger than ever. "

In addition to the chairman and CEO, Hugh Grant, several members of Monsanto's executive team also announced that they will leave shortly after closing. Each will stay with the company for a period of time after closing to help support a successful transition with Bayer. Members of the Executive Team leaving after closing include: Chief Financial Officer Pierre Courduroux, Chief Technology Officer Dr. Robert Fraley, Chief of Staff and Community Relations Janet Holloway, Director of Human Resources Steven Mizell, Strategy Director Kerry Preete, Controller Nicole Ringenberg and Secretary and General Counsel David Snively.

The current Monsanto executives who will become members of the Crop Science Executive Leadership Team at Bayer once the deal closes include the President and Chief Operating Officer of Monsanto Brett Begemann, Executive Director of Climate Dr. Michael Stern, Director of Information from Monsanto James Swanson, Monsanto Technology Integration Leader Dr. Robert Reiter and Monsanto Global Supply Chain and Commercial Operations direct Jesús Madrazo.