# Data borrowed from @DSM's post.
df = pd.DataFrame({"A": [1,2,3], "B": [-2, 8, 1]})
df
A B
0 1 -2
1 2 8
2 3 1
df['C'] = df[['A', 'B']].values.max(1)
# Or, assuming "A" and "B" are the only columns,
# df['C'] = df.values.max(1)
df
A B C
0 1 -2 1
1 2 8 8
2 3 1 3