Martin Taylor (businessman)

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For other persons named Martin Taylor, see Martin Taylor (disambiguation).

Martin Taylor

Martin Taylor, born 1952, is a businessman and former chief executive of Barclays Bank. He is currently Chairman of Syngenta AG.

[edit] Career

He joined Reuters as a journalist in 1974, before moving to the Financial Times in 1978, where he would edit that 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 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 has attended many meetings of the Bilderberg Group and served as Secretary General for several years.

Taylor is currently an international adviser to Goldman Sachs. He is Chairman of Syngenta AG and he also chairs the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture.

[edit] Education and Life

Taylor was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, where he earned a degree in Oriental languages. He also speaks French, German, Italian, and, of course, English.

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