Johnny Clayton Taylor Jr. is an American lawyer, author, board member and public speaker who is the president and Chief Executive Officer of the
Society for Human Resource Management
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is a professional human resources membership association headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. SHRM promotes the role of HR as a profession and provides education, certification, and networking to ...
(SHRM). He was previously president and CEO of the
Thurgood Marshall College Fund
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is an American non-profit organization that supports and represents nearly 300,000 students attending its 47 member-schools that include public historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), medic ...
(TMCF), which represents the 47 publicly-supported
historically Black colleges and universities
Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...
in the United States. In February 2018, President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
appointed Taylor Chair of the President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is Vice Chair of the University of Miami, and Trustee of Jobs for America’s Graduates. Taylor currently sits on the corporate boards of
Guild Education,
Internet Collaborative Information Management Systems (ICIMS), and
XPO Logistics
XPO is an American transportation company that conducts less-than-truckload shipping. The company's headquarters are located in Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
History
The company was initially called ''Express-1 Expedited Solutions'' before b ...
.
In 2021, Taylor was named GlobalMindEd’s Inclusive leader of the year and CEO Update’s Professional CEO of the Year. In August 2022, Taylor was recognized and celebrated for his gifts and contributions to the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...
at the 2-day Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. Breezeway dedication event, which celebrates the legacy, history, and future of the Black experience at the University of Miami. Taylor is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois, and Washington, D.C.
Early life and education
Taylor was born and raised in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida and graduated as valedictorian of his class at
Dillard High School in
Broward County
Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...
. He attended the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...
, where he was an Isaac Bashevis Singer Scholar and graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Communication. He went on to earn a Master of Arts with honors from
Drake University
Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States.
His ...
and a
Juris Doctor with honors from the
Drake Law School
Drake University Law School is a professional graduate law school of Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa. The school has over 330 full-time students. The school is led by Dean Jerry Anderson. Founded in 1865, Drake Law School is one of ...
, where he served as research editor of the ''Drake Law Review'' and argued on the National Moot Court Team He is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois, and Washington, D.C.
Bar Associations.
Career
On June 1, 2017, the
Society for Human Resource Management
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is a professional human resources membership association headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. SHRM promotes the role of HR as a profession and provides education, certification, and networking to ...
(SHRM) named Taylor president and Chief Executive Officer. SHRM represents a global network of over 300,000 human resources professionals, business executives, and people managers, and has offices in the United States, United Arab Emirates, and India. While serving as CEO, Taylor repositioned the SHRM Foundation, a 501(c)(3) subsidiary of SHRM, into an active charity with a broader remit and donor base increasing the SHRM Foundation endowment fund by $10 million. Taylor re-branded SHRM for not only HR certification, but for all things work, worker, and workplace.
Prior to serving as CEO of SHRM, Taylor was selected to lead the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) in 2010. This includes 47 publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 6 Law Schools, and 2 Medical Schools, and over 300,000 students. During his tenure as President of TMCF, Taylor secured several notable partnerships. In March 2015,
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
committed $50 million to diversity efforts, $40 million of which created programming, scholarships and other initiatives for the faculty and students of historically Black colleges and universities (
HBCU). In January 2017, the
Charles Koch Foundation
The Koch family foundations are a group of charitable foundations in the United States associated with the family of Fred C. Koch. The most prominent of these are the Charles Koch Foundation and the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation, created b ...
and
Koch Industries
Koch Industries, Inc. ( ) is an American privately held multinational conglomerate corporation based in Wichita, Kansas and is the second-largest privately held company in the United States, after Cargill. Its subsidiaries are involved in the ...
announced a $25.6 million gift to TMCF to create the Center for Advancing Opportunity (CAO), which created research centers on HBCU campuses that administer scholarship and fellowships and focus on issues facing marginalized communities in the areas of education, criminal justice reform, and entrepreneurship. The CAO partnered with
Gallup to create an index to measure sentiment in communities facing these issues.
Preceding his presidency of TMCF, Taylor worked for InterActiveCorp (
IAC), a media company, first as the senior vice president of human resources, and then as the president and chief executive officer of one of IAC's operating subsidiaries
RushmoreDrive, the first search engine created for the Black community.
Law career
Before joining IAC, Taylor was a partner and Chief Executive in the
McGuireWoods
McGuireWoods LLP is a US-based international law firm. Their largest offices are in Richmond, Virginia, Charlotte, North Carolina and Chicago, Illinois.
History
1800s–1960s
McGuireWoods traces its origins to two lawyers, Egbert R. Watson and ...
law firm, focusing on consulting services for human resource issues. Prior to joining McGuireWoods, Taylor served as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary to
Compass Group
Compass Group plc is a British multinational contract foodservice company headquartered in Chertsey, England. It is the largest contract foodservice company in the world employing over 500,000 people. It serves meals in locations including o ...
USA. He’s held several senior human resources and legal executive roles with Viacom and its subsidiaries including
Blockbuster Entertainment,
Paramount Pictures, and
Alamo Rent a Car
Alamo Rent a Car is a rental car agency based in Clayton, Missouri, United States. The company has branches across North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and Oceania. Alamo is owned by Enterprise Holdings, along with other ...
.
Author
Taylor has published several notable works, most recently national best seller RESET: A Leader’s Guide to Work in an Age of Upheaval.
He is also co-author of ''The Trouble with HR: An Insider's Guide to Finding and Keeping the Best People,'' which studies employee relations, compensation and benefits, training, on-boarding, and development practices. He authors a weekly column in ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'' titled "Ask HR."
Public speaking
Taylor speaks on business leadership, diversity, management, politics at work, and human resources. He has spoken to ''
The Today Show
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...
'',
CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
,
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was esta ...
, ''
HR Magazine'', ''
CBS Evening News
The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featuring news reports, feature st ...
'', ''
TIME
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'', ''
Fortune'', and ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
,'' and Big Think. In addition, Taylor has testified before Congress on several occasions.
His testimonies covered workforce issues such as sexual harassment and paid leave.
In 2017, Taylor gave the keynote address at
Albany State University
Albany State University is a public historically black university in Albany, Georgia. In 2017, Darton State College and Albany State University consolidated to become one university under the University System of Georgia (USG). Albany State U ...
’s fall commencement ceremony for graduates of College of Arts and Humanities, the College of Education, and the College of Sciences and Technology.
He previously delivered the keynote address at SHRM affiliate conferences, including The Chesapeake Bay (CHRA) Fall Conference, the Tri-County HR Conference & Expo, and New York City SHRM. In 2019, he spoke at the International Career and Business Alliance Diversity and Inclusion conference.
He is a member of the All American Entertainment Speakers Bureau (AAE). In 2022, Taylor gives a speech for Miami class of 2022 ceremonies at the Watsco Center.
Board Positions
Taylor currently sits on the corporate boards of Guild Education, iCIMS, and XPO Logistics. He also serves on several non-profit boards including the Board of Trustees at the University of Miami, and the Board of Trustees for Jobs for America’s Graduates.
Taylor has previously served on the boards of Gallup Inc., AuBon Pain, Inc., The Cooper Union, Society for Human Resource Management/SHRM, Drake University, BlumenthalPerforming Arts Center, Leader to Leader Institute f/k/a The Peter F. Drucker Foundation, YMCA of the USA, and Johnson C. Smith University. He was also an advisor to Safe Streets and Second Chances, a program working to reduce recidivism among previously incarcerated individuals.
Taylor has served in several government appointed positions. He acted as chair to President Trump’s Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and served on the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board. The Board advises the National Council for the American Worker on how to ensure that American students and workers have access to the resources they need to succeed in the global economy. In 2020, Taylor was U.S. Representative
Mark Walker’s guest for the
State of the Union address.
Articles
* Johnny C. Taylor Jr. (May 3, 2022) "How do I support employees' caregiving needs?" USA TODAY
* Johnny C. Taylor Jr. (April 29, 2022) "Ask HR: What's the Best Way to Ask for Raise?" MUCK RACK
* Johnny C. Taylor Jr. (April 29, 2022) "Ask HR: what to Do When You Have Second Thoughts Abouts a New Job" SHRM
* Johnny C. Taylor Jr. (March 26, 2019) "Can worker get written up for changing TV to Fox News? Free-speech rights differ in office" Herald
* Johnny C. Taylor Jr. (August 31, 2021) "How the Pandemic Changed Talent Management (Back to Work, Better)" Harvards Business review
* Johnny C. Taylor Jr. "Flexibility in the Workplace Is No Longer an Anomaly" Fbusiness and tech
* Johnny C. Taylor Jr. (September 26, 2021) "THE POWER OF PEOPLE YOU OVERLOOK" Wiley Library
Personal life
Taylor married former
WNBA player
Charlotte Smith-Taylor in 2002. The couple divorced in 2007. Taylor has two children, Taylor and Raleigh, and resides in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. He also manages the family's holding company
Taylor Holdings of Broward Inc.
Awards
*In 2011, Taylor was named one of ''
Ebony magazine
''Ebony'' is a monthly magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment. Its target audience is the African-American community, and its coverage includes the lifestyles and accomplishments of influential black people, fashion, beauty, an ...
's'' "Power 100" list of influential African-Americans. In March *2019, Drake University awarded Taylor their alumni of the year award.
*In 2020, Taylor was named one of
LinkedIn
LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...
's best in class for government, advocacy, and non-profits. The same year he was named a top ten human resources influencer by the LaSalle Network and a King Legacy award recipient at the 29th International Salute to the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast.
*In 2021, Taylor was named Professional Society CEO of the Year by CEO Update.
*Taylor was Named a 2022 LinkedIn Top Voice in Company culture
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Johnny C. Jr.
African-American lawyers
African-American writers
American male writers
Living people
University of Miami School of Communication alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century African-American people
African-American male writers
Drake University Law School alumni