Richard J. Mahoney is featured in the current issue of Leaders, a quarterly that “represents a forum of ideas and opinions on the major issues of change, and that distinguishes the special provinces of the world’s leaders.” Mahoney has shared his leadership expertise with the Olin community as the Distinguished Executive in Residence since 2004.  He is also the Distinguished Executive in Residence at Washington University’s Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy.

During his 33-year career at Monsanto Co., including 13 as CEO, Mahoney transformed the enterprise from a largely commodity chemical and agricultural specialties company into a broad-based life sciences and specialty chemical company with major programs in pharmaceuticals, food, and nutritional ingredients, ag biotechnology and related activities.

©Photo by Jerry Naunheim Jr.

In 2007, Mahoney created the Olin Award for faculty research to encourage the study of relevant business problems that could bridge the academic and management worlds. He told Leaders, “The Olin Award was born as a prize to recognize research that has the greatest chance to influence business results, either directly in their work or as starting point basic research around which others could develop applications.”