David Scott Taylor (born April 20, 1958) is an American business executive who is the chairman of

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

. He served as the executive chairman of

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

from 2021 to 2022, having previously been chairman, president and CEO.

Early life

David Taylor was born in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, United States, and graduated from

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

in 1980 with a B.S. in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

Career

Upon graduation, he joined Procter & Gamble as a production manager. Taylor spent the first decade of his career in P&G's Product Supply organization, where he managed production and operations at a number of plants, eventually managing P&G's manufacturing plant in Mehoopany, Pennsylvania. This experience gave him hands-on understanding of manufacturing, logistics, engineering, and supply chain operations. In the early 1990s, Taylor was transferred to the brand management department, his first assignment being Pampers—P&G's largest brand. Since then, he has held leadership roles spanning a number of P&G businesses, including Baby Care, Hair Care, Family Care, and Home Care in which he expanded businesses across North America, Western Europe, and Asia. He also led P&G's Greater China hair care business for nearly four years. Taylor was group president of P&G's Beauty Sector and P&G's Grooming and Health Care Sector which included the brands of Crest, Oral-B, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Olay, SK-II, Gillette, Fusion, Mach 3, and Vicks. According to ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'', as CEO, Taylor is “thought to be moving P&G in the right direction (albeit too slowly for investors’ taste).” In January 2019, Taylor said in Switzerland: "The world would be a better place if my board of directors on down is represented by 50% of the women. We sell our products to more than 50% of the women." ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' noted the company's board of directors has more than twice as many men as it does women. In August 2019, Taylor was appointed a member of the

board of directors. He currently serves as Chairman of the board.

Outside interests

Earlier in his career, Taylor was vice chair of the Greater China Quality Brand Protection Committee, a collaboration between top companies and the Chinese government. He has been a director of P&G's joint venture with Clorox. Taylor was on the board of directors for Feeding America for eight years, including two years as board chair. He continues to be a member of the Cincinnati Freestore Foodbank. In addition, Taylor is a member of the board of visitors at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.

References

External links

Cnbc.com
1958 births 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies Living people Procter & Gamble people Delta Air Lines people Duke University trustees Businesspeople from Charlotte, North Carolina Duke University Pratt School of Engineering alumni {{US-business-bio-1950s-stub