'Scottish optimist' at Monsanto helm battles Bayer takeover bid and protests

Hugh Grant (no, not that one) is CEO of the agrochemical firm that's been called 'the most evil company in the world' and faces a challenging future

Meet Hugh Grant. No, not the famously charming Four Weddings and a Funeral actor, but the far more controversial self-described "Scottish optimist" who is chairman and chief executive of US agrochemical company Monsanto, AKA "the most evil company in the world".

It's a big weekend for Grant and Monsanto, a company that has been fighting against adverse publicity since its production of deadly herbicide Agent Orange in the 1960s and, more recently, its role at the forefront of genetically engineered crops. Now it is battling an unsolicited multibillion-dollar takeover from the German chemicals company Bayer that would create the dominant force in the world's food supply.