Taylor started his career in 1974 and joined
Reuters as a journalist. He then moved to the
Financial Times in 1978, where he edited the paper's "Lex" column. In 1984, he joined the board of
Courtaulds, 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 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 (IPPR) and compiled their 2001 Commission on Public/Private Partnerships report. He was the Secretary General of the
Bilderberg Group for several years. Taylor was vice-chairman of the board of
RTL Group, before being elevated to chairman in 2019, and was formerly chairman of
Syngenta AG and of the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture. He was an international adviser to
Goldman Sachs until 2005. He was appointed to the Bank of England Financial Policy Committee in March 2013. ==Education and life==