休•格兰特

    公司：孟山都公司

    《财富》500强排名：206

    这位休•格兰特可不是电影明星，而是一位拥有农业科学学位的格拉斯哥人。1981年，他偶然看到孟山都公司的招聘广告，从而迎来了人生的第一个转机。当时，这家种子公司正在招聘一名能够向苏格兰农民演示如何在麦田施用Roundup除草剂的员工，格兰特有幸被选中。他在孟山都获得迅速成长——之后的几年里，他曾负责过公司的营销、销售和技术业务，以及在四个大陆的业务部门。2000年，孟山都公司进行IPO期间，他成为公司COO，并于2003年成为公司CEO。格兰特表示，长期在一家公司工作对自己非常有益。虽然孟山都的文化始终注重人才培养，但这家公司已经发生了太多的变化，“让他感觉就像在许多家不同的公司工作过一样。”他表示，关键在于“愿意挑战现状。必须持之以恒地倾听、学习和改变。”

Hugh Grant

    Company: Monsanto

    Fortune 500 rank: 206

    The other Hugh Grant, a Glaswegian with an agricultural degree, got his first big break in 1981 when he came across a want ad for Monsanto. The seed company was looking for someone to show Scottish farmers how to apply Roundup to their barley fields, and 23-year-old Grant was their man. His role at Monsanto grew quickly from there -- in the years since, he led the company's marketing, sales, and technology operations and business units on four continents. He became COO in 2000, the time of Monsanto's IPO, and CEO in 2003. Grant says being a 'lifer' has been personally rewarding. While Monsanto's culture has remained consistently nurturing, the business has changed so much he "feels as if he's worked at a wide range of different companies." Key for lifers, he says, "is a willingness to challenge the status quo. Listening, learning and changing must be continuous."