Robert H. Malott was born in Boston, Massachusetts on October 6, 1926, the son of Deane W. and Eleanor Thrum Malott. He was the eldest of three, with two sisters Edith and Janet. The family moved to Lawrence, Kansas in 1939 when Malott's father became Chancellor of the University of Kansas.

Robert Malott enrolled at KU at the age of 16, studying chemistry and playing basketball. With the outbreak of World War II in the U.S., Malott enlisted in the Navy, returning to KU after his service to finish his undergraduate degree. Malott also earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School and attended New York University's Law School.

Malott spent most of his career at FMC Corporation, an agricultural sciences and chemical manufacturing company. In 1971 he became chief executive officer, moving the company's headquarters from San Jose, California to Chicago, Illinois. He retired from FMC in 1991.

Malott held leadership roles on a variety of corporate boards, including Amoco, Continental Illinois Bank, and United Technologies. He was also involved in a variety of cultural and philanthropic enterprises, serving in capacities that included trustee or director. These included the Lyric Opera Company of Chicago, Chicago Botanic Garden, Hoover Institution, University of Chicago, and the Aspen Institute, among other institutions.

Robert H. Malott married Elizabeth "Ibby" Hubert in 1960, with whom he had three children: Elizabeth, Barbara, and Deane. Malott died on April 4, 2018.

[Information retrieved from "Robert Malott, 1926-2018" obituary available at https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sfgate/name/robert-malott-obituary?id=1639185.]