By Elizabeth Cook Jenkins, BSā99
As a 91ĢĘ²®»¢ undergraduate, Alex Taylor, BSā97, never thought heād join the family business. He also had no desire to follow his friends into the world of financial services, even though he was studying what he calls the āpsychology of businessā as a human and organizational development major at .
āI didnāt want to do the same thing everybody else was doing,ā says Taylor, who went to work after graduation writing newsletters for New York-based nonprofit Communities in Schools while also mapping out a book about fly fishing. āI even talked about starting my own fly-fishing company.ā
After a four-month journey around the globe, Taylor finished his book, The Longest Cast: The Fly-Fishing Journey of a Lifetime (2001, Lyons Press). He also realized he wanted to join the family business after all.
āI was spending too much time proving to myself that I didnāt have to work at the family company, and avoiding the most obvious opportunity,ā he says. āWe have this huge legacy that goes back 100 years. It would be such a shame not to be a part of it.ā
Taylor is the great-grandson of Cox Enterprises founder James M. Cox. Today, privately held Cox is one of the nationās largest media companies, with annual revenue of around $18 billion and more than 60,000 employees. In addition to owning storied newspapers such as The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Austin American-Statesman, the company runs a network of local broadcast television and radio stations, a broadband and cable operation, and prominent automotive platforms such as Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader.
Last July, after having risen through the company ranks over a 16-year career, Taylor was named executive vice president and chief operating officer of Cox Enterprises. At the time of his appointment, Cox CEO John M. Dyer said, āAlex has the bold thinking and vision, rooted in a deep understanding and commitment to our businesses, that will enable our company to grow and compete for the next 10, 20 and even 30 years.ā
A similar sentiment led 91ĢĘ²®»¢ Chancellor to think about Taylor as someone who could help chart the universityās future. In 2015 he was appointed to the . āWhen the board starts to think about who will become leaders and stewards of the university, we look for people who are consistently engaged in the activities of 91ĢĘ²®»¢. Itās really about asking, āWho is the next generation of leaders?āā Zeppos says.
āIād had my eye on Alex for a while and have gotten to know him better over the past decade. He is deeply immersed in the things that the students and university are focused on, such as technology, innovation and creativity.ā
UP THE RANKS
Despite his family connections, Taylorās rise through Cox Enterprises wasnāt a given. He started at an entry-level position and had to earn his way to where he is today.
When he told his motherās cousin, Jim Kennedy, who was Cox chairman and CEO at the time, that he wanted to join the company, Kennedyās first instinct was to send Taylor to the digital group in Atlanta. But then he reconsidered, instead sending Taylor to Grand Junction, Colorado, to be a general assignment reporter at The Daily Sentinel, covering stories like the local cherry harvest.
āJim said, āItāll be the best business training you could ever have, because being a reporter teaches you how to figure out what the right questions are, and that skill will serve you well your whole life,āā Taylor recalls.
Soon after his introduction to newspapers in Colorado, Taylor moved to Austin, Texas, to work on the metro desk at the Austin American-Statesman, covering the police department and county courthouse, later working his way up to assistant metro editor. He then made the switch from the editorial side of the media company to the business side, selling classified automotive ads for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
āAdvertising was like the dark side to a journalist,ā Taylor says. āBut I went to the other side and realized that advertising pays the bills. I learned a lot about how to do it and the importance of doing it well.ā
Jamie Wildman, BAā97, who met Taylor during rush at Phi Kappa Psi, the fraternity they both pledged at 91ĢĘ²®»¢, says his longtime friend emerges as a leader no matter the circumstances. āWhen I talk to classmates, we all share the same view that if there is someone who exhibits a high degree of leadership, he is at the top of that list,ā says Wildman, now a managing director at investment banking firm William Blair & Co. āHe has an amazing ability to accomplish a goalāand an amazing amount of determination.ā
Taylor soon began figuring out how to navigate the consolidation of the Cox Media Group. His first task was to find a way for the Cox-owned newspaper and television and radio stations in Dayton, Ohio, to coexist. āThey used to look at each other as dire enemiesāradio versus TV versus newspaper,ā he says. āBut we needed to get those cultures to work together.ā Using Dayton as a model, he set about creating collaboration among the companyās media operations in Alabama, Georgia and Texas.
His success in the media group soon led to a new role overseeing operations of the cable systems at Cox Communications. With his latest promotion, Taylor leads the companyās three subsidiariesāCox Communications, Cox Automotive and Cox Media Groupāas well as the overall companyās long-term investment and growth strategies.
āIf you do personality profiles, I am high on the change scale,ā says Taylor, who welcomes the challenges (and opportunities) that come with the rise of digital media. āI am very comfortable in a world thatās changing, and when people say you canāt do this or that, my initial reaction is, āWell, of course you can.ā Studying HOD at 91ĢĘ²®»¢ made me comfortable finding ways to tackle challenges.ā
A LEGACY OF RESPECT
James M. Cox bought his first newspaper at 28, and purchased another one six years later, before trying his hand at politics. He won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and served three terms as governor of Ohio before running as the Democratic nominee for president in 1920 (and losing to Warren G. Harding), with Franklin D. Roosevelt as his running mate.
Although he never met his great-grandfather, Taylor says he carries on in the spirit of the companyās progressive founder, soaking up family stories and famous quotes from him. One in particular stands out for Taylor: āAsk yourself one question: āIs it right?ā Then do what you believe is best for your town, your state and your country.ā
In Coxās last will and testament, he wrote, āThe good fortunes of our company are the direct result of our companyās employees, and I ask my children and trustees to always recognize that debt.ā Taylor says he has taken to heart that plea as an executive in the company.
āHe treats everyone the same wayāwith a tremendous amount of respectāno matter what role they have,ā says Wildman, who has stayed close with Taylor since college.
Recognizing his own good fortune, Taylor also understands the importance of giving back. He donated all the profits from his fly-fishing book to the International Game Fishing Association. āI wanted the book to have purpose, a little bit of social cause,ā he says. āI was trying to point out the conservation challenges in all these fisheries.ā He served on the board of directors for American Rivers for eight years before being named its chairman in 2014.
He also is currently a member of the board of directors for both the PATH Foundation and the Food Well Alliance, two Atlanta charities dedicated to improving public spaces. āThe vision of PATH is to be able to bike or walk anywhere in Atlanta,ā he explains, āand the Food Well Alliance is a nonprofit committed to converting brown and unclaimed urban spaces into gardens.ā
In recent years Taylor also has increased his involvement with 91ĢĘ²®»¢. In addition to his appointment on the Board of Trust, he has hosted for first-year students in Atlanta and helped increase giving among graduating seniors with challenge grants.
āThe university has found that if you give as a senior, you are much more likely to give in the years ahead,ā says Taylor, who agreed to make a significant donation to Experience 91ĢĘ²®»¢āfunds to support extracurricular activities for students on financial aidāif 75 percent of the seniors gave to the . āThe first year they did not hit the goal, but the second year they did, so I had to pay up,ā says Taylor, laughing. āIt was money well spent.ā This year Taylor will support another Senior Class Fund challenge grant for Experience 91ĢĘ²®»¢.
As Taylor has been learning about the financial aid program and the Academic Strategic Plan as a 91ĢĘ²®»¢ trustee, Zeppos says he has also appreciated Taylorās wider curiosity about a variety of other matters, from voter turnout to technological innovation.
āHere is someone really young who is full of this wisdom of the big picture,ā Zeppos says. āHe is asking, āHow do you make Atlanta better or 91ĢĘ²®»¢ better or America better?ā He is just someone who sees what can be better and what he can bring to the table to help.ā
Elizabeth Cook Jenkins, BSā99, is a freelance writer in Los Angeles. At 91ĢĘ²®»¢ she majored in both human and organizational development and English.