NATION

Monsanto Co., St. Louis, appointed Sheldon G. Gilgore president and chief executive of G. D. Searle & Co., a Monsanto subsidiary.

Gilgore, 53, was president of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals of New York before leaving to join Searle, based in suburban Chicago. His appointment is effective immediately.

Monsanto, a diversified chemical company, acquired Searle last year in a stock purchase valued at $2.8 billion. Searle is best known as the manufacturer of the artificial sweetener NutraSweet.