Joshua Taylor has joined SMU Cox School of Business as the managing director of the William S. Spears Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

SMU said that Taylor will be responsible for leading the institute’s goals, programs, and operations, in alignment with the overall mission and vision of SMU Cox, co-founding directors Megha Tolia and Nirav Tolia, and benefactor Dr. William S. Spears.

‘The ideal trifecta’

“With Josh leading the daily work of the Spears Institute and working with Megha and Nirav to help shape and implement their ideas,” Spears said in a statement. “We’ve got the ideal trifecta of strategy-minded, entrepreneurial leaders to positively influence careers, spur innovation and inspire entrepreneurship among SMU Cox students who will in turn shape the economic future of our city, our state and our country.”

Taylor brings 20 years of experience in senior leadership roles in strategy consulting, Fortune 500, and start-up organizations, SMU said.

He has led large, cross-functional teams through multiple successful strategy and transformation programs in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, the university said. Most recently, Taylor was the chief strategy officer at a rapid growth, venture-backed consumer product startup based in California.

Taylor has been at the forefront of emerging consumer and technology innovation trends for the past decade and has worked closely with entrepreneurs as a corporate venture lead and advisory mentor to scale their businesses and navigate ever-changing operating environments.

In 2021, Taylor fulfilled a long-term goal by joining SMU Cox as a mentor in the MBA startup “Unbridled Ventures” program and as an adjunct instructor for the Executive MBA program.

Founding and leadership of the Spears Institute

Spears, founder and chairman of Cenergistic, launched the institute in April 2022 with the largest gift by a non-alumnus in the history of SMU. The amount of the historic gift wasn’t disclosed.

Spears happened to live next door to two other globally respected entrepreneurs—the Tolias—and brought them on board in September 2023 to serve as co-founding directors of the institute.

Megha Tolia is president and COO of Shondaland, the television production company founded by well-known Hollywood showrunner and storyteller Shonda Rhimes, creator of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Bridgerton and Inventing Anna.

Megha Tolia began her career as a brand manager for Neutrogena, spending the last 20 years building and operating mission-driven, consumer-centric, innovative brands. Before joining Shondaland, she spent eight years managing several businesses for SC Johnson, including Method, Ecover, Mrs. Meyer’s and Babyganics.

Nirav Tolia has spent the last 24 years creating and leading pioneering consumer Internet companies. He is the co-founder of Nextdoor, the global “neighborhood network,” and will be returning to his role as its CEO effective May 8. He also serves as chairman of Hedosophia, a technology investment firm and early investor in Nextdoor.

Before co-founding Nextdoor, Nirav Tolia was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Benchmark Capital, chief operating officer of Shopping.com, an online shopping website, and co-founder and CEO of Epinions.com, a consumer review website.

Leveraging the culture of free enterprise in North Texas, the Spears Institute said it will enhance the business ventures of SMU students and faculty and the wider region, support the academic and professional pursuits of students and faculty, and bring speakers to share expertise of interest to the campus and business community.

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