Martin Taylor is a businessman and former chief executive of Barclays Bank. He is currently Chairman of Syngenta

Syngenta

Syngenta AG is a large global Swiss agribusiness company which notably markets seeds and pesticides. Syngenta is involved in biotechnology and genomic research. The company is a leader in crop protection, and ranks third in total sales in the commercial agricultural seeds market. Sales in 2010 were...

 AG.

Career

He joined Reuters

Reuters

Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...

 as a journalist in 1974, before moving to the Financial Times

Financial Times

The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....

 in 1978, where he edited the paper's Lex column.

In 1984, he joined the board of Courtaulds

Courtaulds

Courtaulds was a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres, and chemicals.-Foundation:The Company was founded by George Courtauld and his cousin Peter Taylor in 1794 as a silk, crepe and textile business at Pebmarsh in north Essex trading as George Courtauld & Co...

, becoming chief executive of Courtaulds Textiles by 1990. He became chief executive of Barclays four years later, in 1994, remaining there until 1998. He joined the board at retail chain W H Smith

W H Smith

WHSmith plc is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It is best known for its chain of high street, railway station, airport, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, and entertainment products...

 in 1999, eventually becoming chief executive before departing in 2003.

He was a member of the UK Parliament select Committee for Science and Technology for five years. He also joined the Institute for Public Policy Research

Institute for Public Policy Research

The IPPR is the leading progressive think-tank in the UK. It produces research and policy ideas committed to upholding values of social justice, democratic reform and environmental sustainability. IPPR is based in London and IPPR North has branches in Newcastle and Manchester.It was founded in...

 (IPPR) and compiled their 2001 Commission on Public/Private Partnerships report.

He has attended many meetings of the Bilderberg Group

Bilderberg Group

The Bilderberg Group, Bilderberg conference, or Bilderberg Club is an annual, unofficial, invitation-only conference of approximately 120 to 140 guests from North America and Western Europe, most of whom are people of influence. About one-third are from government and politics, and two-thirds from...

 and served as Secretary General for several years.

Taylor is currently an international adviser to Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...

. He is Chairman of Syngenta

Syngenta

Syngenta AG is a large global Swiss agribusiness company which notably markets seeds and pesticides. Syngenta is involved in biotechnology and genomic research. The company is a leader in crop protection, and ranks third in total sales in the commercial agricultural seeds market. Sales in 2010 were...

 AG and he also chairs the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture.

Education and Life

Taylor was educated at Eton

Eton College

Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....

 and Balliol College, Oxford

Balliol College, Oxford

Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....

, where he earned a degree in Oriental languages. He also speaks French, German, and Italian.

Taylor has two daughters and a son. He is an avid traveler and is interested in art, language, music, literature, and architecture.

External links

• Profile at the Times
  The Times
  The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
  
  
• Profile at the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture