Mark Taylor, dean of Warwick Business School and professor of international finance at the University of Warwick, UK, has been appointed dean of the John M. Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, according to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton.
Taylor succeeds Mahendra R. Gupta, who announced earlier this year that he would conclude his deanship on June 30. Taylor will assume the role Dec. 1. Kurt T. Dirks, senior associate dean and the Bank of America Professor of Managerial Leadership at Olin, will serve as dean from July 1 until Nov. 30.
“In Mark Taylor we have found a strong leader with the vision, wisdom and experience to take Olin Business School to new heights,” Wrighton said. “He is well qualified not only as a scholar, but also as a practitioner in global business and finance. I have no doubt he will strengthen Olin’s presence and reputation in the domestic and international arenas.
“I also remain exceptionally grateful to Mahendra Gupta for his many contributions, and to Kurt Dirks for stepping in to guide Olin before Mark Taylor arrives,” Wrighton said.
“We could not be more pleased that Mark Taylor has accepted our offer to bring his talents across the pond to St. Louis,” said Provost Holden Thorp. “With his global perspective and outstanding academic credentials, he brings the right mix of scholarship and leadership to the position. We are extremely proud to introduce him as the next dean of Olin Business School.”
Taylor comes to Washington University after serving for six years as dean at Warwick, where he oversaw a dramatic rise in the school’s rankings and research performance, and the opening in 2014 of the school’s new London base in The Shard — the city’s tallest and most iconic building — as well as, in 2015, a multimillion-dollar extension of the main campus building. He also is credited with building strong international partnerships with leading schools, including the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University; the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad; the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia; and the University of Cape Town School of Business. He previously had served as managing director at the global investment management corporation BlackRock, where he led the European arm of a multibillion-dollar fund.
“Washington University in St. Louis is one of the world’s great universities with a rich tradition of innovation and creativity,” Taylor said. “It is a great honor to be invited to lead Olin Business School. A strong foundation has been created by my predecessor and his team, and I intend to build on that to bring further success to the school as we enter Olin’s second century.”
Taylor is a graduate of Oxford University, from which he holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in philosophy, politics and economics. He also earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in economics and finance from Birkbeck College at the University of London; an MBA in higher education management from University College London; and a master’s degree in English literature from Liverpool University. One of the most highly cited economists in the world, his research has been published widely in leading international journals. In 2012, the University of Warwick recognized him with an honorary doctorate for his lifetime contributions to the field of finance.