Monsanto's New Smiley Mask

St. Louis Post-Dispatch
May 12, 2002

REACHING OUT TO CHANGE PERCEPTIONS;
MONSANTO CHIEF EXECUTIVE HENDRIK VERFAILLIE
IS DESCRIBED AS A GOOD LISTENER WHO IS RESPECTFUL
TO OTHERS

BY: Virginia Baldwin Gilbert

In his first major speech as chief executive of the "new" Monsanto Co.
Hendrik Verfaillie made a public confession.

". . . our tone, our very approach, was seen as arrogant," he said in a
speech to a Farm Journal conference in Nov. 2000. "My company had
focused so much attention on getting the technology right for our customer,
the grower, that we didn't fully take into account the issues and concerns it
raised for others."

It was a disarming speech by a man not afraid to acknowledge critics.
Heeding classic business advice, Verfaillie plays to his strengths. Those
who know him well say he is a good listener.

He's also adept at asking "probing questions -- the questions that others
may feel are a little off-limits, that they're reluctant to ask," said John
Murabito, Monsanto's senior vice president for human resources. "And
because he does it in a way that's not threatening, they're more likely to
have an open conversation."

Verfaillie is also ambitious. He wants everyone at the company to b ecome
good listeners and to act on what they hear.

Strong opposition to Monsanto's genetically engineered crops had been
building for some time before he acknowledged the obvious in his Farm
Journal speech in Washington.

Two years before, his predecessor, Robert Shapiro, had gotten a pie in the
face after speaking about the benefits of biotechnology to an agriculture
group in San Francisco.

The pie-tossing protesters called themselves the Biotic Baking Brigade. With
their tofu and sweet potato confections, they expressed what they thought of
Monsanto's science.

Like other Monsanto executives, Verfaillie was surprised at the passion of
the protests. But he reacted more mildly than some others.

"We thought we had all our facts and the other side just didn't get it. I
realized it was not an issue of science, but of perception," Verfaillie said
recently. "I decided, why don't I meet with these people?"

While he hasn't met with the pie-throwers, he has spoken with
representatives of Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and other activist
groups.

Doug Gurian-Sherman, co-leader of the biotech project for the Center for
Science in the Public Interest, is among them. "The discussions have been
valuable for us to understand Monsanto's perspective and for them to
understand ours," he said. "But I haven't seen any indication that Monsanto
has taken our suggestions to heart."

Gurian-Sherman's non-profit advocacy group, based in Washington, has
been critical of what it calls a lack of regulatory oversight of genetically
engineered crops. It has urged the Food and Drug Administration to require
more specific safety testing of genetically engineered food crops, instead
of the current, largely voluntary, program.

Taking the pledge

Verfaillie also used the Farm Journal speech to unveil the New Monsanto
Pledge, a reworked version of a 1990 document that dealt with environmental
issues.

The old pledge "tended to be not taken seriously in some quarters," said
Peter Raven, director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, on whose board
Verfaillie serves.

"Under Hendrik's direction, (the new pledge) was simplified and made more
direct," Raven said. "The company has . . . won many more believers around
the world in what they're doing and attempting to do."

But Verfaillie's mission is not just to produce converts. It is to
understand critics' concerns. For example, he met in 2000 with Abdurrahman
Wahid, then president of Indonesia. "I gave him my pitch," Verfaillie said,
"filled with scientific evidence that biotechnology is safe and good for the
environment. Five or six minutes into the pitch, he said, 'I know all that.'
"

Wahid told Verfaillie he was more concerned that Indonesian farmers would
become too dependent on Monsanto's patented technology. The pre sident's
urgent question: "Will Monsanto control our agriculture?"

"We had a very different conversation after that," Verfaillie said.
Perception is reality

Verfaillie, 56, was born the son of a vegetable farmer in Ardooie, Belgium.
He earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University
of Louvain and worked for Schering-Agro of Belgium before joining Monsanto
in 1976. He moved to St. Louis in 1979, rising to head of the agriculture
division and then chief operating officer in 1998 when Monsanto was a life
science company, combining pharmaceuticals, agriculture and biotechnology.
When Monsanto merged into Pharmacia Corp. in early 2000, Verfaillie was
named president of the new agriculture subsidiary. By that October, the
subsidiary reappeared as a publicly traded company, called the "new"
Monsanto Co. in its initial public offering. Pharmacia announced late last
year it will sell its remaining 85 percent stake in Monsanto by the end of
2002.

Verfaillie, who speaks Flemish, French, German and English, travels all over
the world, acting as an ambassador for biotechnology and Monsanto. He has
appeared before the European Commission and visited China, Brazil and other
developing countries.

Verfaillie realizes that many critics are concerned "not about food safety,
but about control of the food supply in developing countries."

Even before he took over, Monsanto had dropped its research and development
of so-called "terminator technology" that would have made seeds with
patented traits incapable of producing more than one generation of plants.
The company is working on a declaration that would deal with concerns about
farmer dependence and still acknowledge that Monsanto is a business that
pursues profit and market share.

Verfaillie said he was surprised to discover a religious issue connected to
genetically engineered plants. Muslims and others were concerned about the
use of animal genes in plants. Monsanto now pledges not to use animal or
human genes in plant breeding.

Another concern directing Monsanto's research involves the use of antibiotic
resistance markers in gene transfers, which critics fear might result in the
proliferation of bacteria immune to antibiotics.
"Every scientist will confirm there is not a risk," Verfaillie said. But he
still directed company scientists to find a way to do gene transfers without
the controversial markers.

"There's no strong scientific reason, but perception is reality," he said.
Some of Verfaillie's directives have been difficult for employees to follow.
"We've always guarded our data as great secrets," he said. "When I said,
'Let's make it public,' people (inside Monsanto) almost had a heart attack."
Monsanto has posted on its Web site summaries of safety data on each of its
commercial products and a bibliography of scientific papers published by its
scientists. The company has freely shared a significant amount of scientific
data -- especially some that would be useful in developing crops, such as
rice, sweet potatoes and cassava, that are important to poor countries.
At the same time, it aggressively pursues legal remedies against farmers in
developed nations who are accused of breaking agreements not to save
Monsanto's patented seed.

When asked how the company justifies the two -- giving away technology to
poor nations while suing Canadian farmers -- Verfaillie's usual smile fades
and his eyes flash.

"We will protect our intellectual property," he said.
Monsanto is a business, and Verfaillie makes no apology for that.
So, for its four cash crops -- corn, cotton, wheat and oil seeds, such as
soybeans and canola -- Monsanto will continue to zealously guard its patents
and require payment from those who can afford it, he said.

Listening holds benefits for profits as well, Monsanto employees are
discovering.

Mark Kerry leads a team of 14 sales representatives in Ontario, Canada. The
pledge's directive to create a dialogue led his group to change the way it
conducts meetings with farmers and distributors.

In the past, "if we had a two-hour agenda, we would present slides and talk
to them," Kerry said. This year, after talking for about an hour, sales reps
asked the farmers to break into small groups and consider what Monsanto
does well and what needs to change.

The resulting recommendations ranged from keeping its bulk soybean delivery
system to providing better training for retail distributors.

"They felt they had an opportunity to voice their concerns," Kerry said.
Pursuing profitability

Some groups are harder to persuade. Gurian-Sherman, of the science
advocacy group, said: "Mr. Verfaillie seems like a very sincere and engaging,
bright man. He certainly seems to be interested in doing the right thing. But I
haven't seen any actual actions that support his expressed intentions."
Raven, of the Botanical Garden, believes Verfaillie understands that
Monsanto is "looking at years of careful effort. Hendrik will be remembered
as one who took the time to make that public acceptance a reality."
Meanwhile, Verfaillie is not likely to get hit in the face with flying pies.
"He's not an innately controversial guy," said Dennis Plummer, Verfaillie's
chief of staff. "He looks for solutions. I've never seen him be anything
other than totally respectful to people inside and outside the company.
Because of that, I don't think he's a likely target."

Monsanto Pledge

Dialogue: We will listen carefully to diverse points of view and engage in
thoughtful dialogue to broaden our understanding of issues in order to
better address the needs and concerns of society.

Transparency: We will ensure that information is available, accessible and
understandable.

Respect: We will respect the religious, cultural and ethical concerns of
people throughout the world. We will act with integrity, courage, respect,
candor, honesty, humility and consistency. We will place our highest
priority on the safety of our employees, the communities where we operate,
our customers, consumers and the environment.

Sharing: We will share knowledge and technology to advance science and
understanding, improve agriculture and the environment, improve subsistence
crops and help small-holder farmers in developing countries.

Delivering benefits: We will deliver high-quality products that are
beneficial to our customers and for the environment, through sound and
innovative science, thoughtful and effective stewardship and a commitment to
safety and health in everything we do.