2023 was a year of widely diverging experiences in the human capital management sector. Throughout the year caution reigned as the Federal Reserve continued to raise interest rates to combat inflation with many fearing the higher interest rates would trigger a recession and spike in unemployment.
Despite interest rate increases that brought the federal funds rate above 5% for the first time in more than 15 years, the unemployment rate remained below 4% for the entirety of 2023 and the anticipated recession never arrived. Job openings remained plentiful and hiring was active, but in most sectors both were lower than in 2021 and 2022.
April Taylor, a FOCUS Managing Director, has more than 20 years of consulting, management, and M&A advisory experience. Since joining FOCUS in 2010, Ms. Taylor has worked on numerous transactions involving businesses in the business services, human capital management, and technology and software fields.
Prior to joining FOCUS, Ms. Taylor worked in product marketing and business analytics roles at AOL. In her role as Director of Business Operations and Analysis at AOL, she led a team responsible for providing analysis, reporting, and strategic recommendations for products generating more than $150 million in annual revenue. She also managed 20+ cross-company initiatives which doubled the retention rate of canceling AOL subscription members as users of AOL’s free, advertising supported products.
Before that, Ms. Taylor was a management consultant and case team leader at Bain & Company, where she worked closely with client management teams, including C-level executives, to deliver measurable financial and operational improvements to businesses in a wide range of industries. Her engagements at Bain included identifying growth and cost savings opportunities, developing implementation plans, and performing investment due diligence.
Ms. Taylor received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a B.A. in economics from Wellesley College. She is also a CFA charter holder and holds FINRA Series 7, 63, and 79 licenses.
