Diana Lancaster Taylor is an American business executive who served as the New York Superintendent of Banks from 2003 to 2007. She also made headlines for being the unofficial “First Lady of New York City” after becoming the domestic partner of politician and businessman Michael Bloomberg during his mayoral terms. She has occupied several high-profile job positions in both the public and private sectors.
Taylor was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, the daughter of a schoolteacher and a biochemist for the Union Carbide chemical company. She earned her bachelor of arts in economics from Dartmouth College, a master of public health from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and a master of business administration from Columbia Business School.
After leaving Dartmouth, destiny seemed to be on Taylor’s side.
In an interview with The Observer, she said, “I have basically fallen into everything I’ve ever done. I’ve never really planned anything. I’ve basically seen opportunities as they come up and they’ve turned out to be really good ones.”
Taylor’s journey to success began when she joined the New York City Department of Social Services. She spent nights and weekends as an administrator at St. Vincent's Hospital in Brooklyn and in the public finance department at Smith Barney, where she was offered a full-time position after graduating from Columbia. She then went on to work for Lehman Brothers and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.
From 1996 to 1999, Taylor was Assistant Secretary to Governor George Pataki and then briefly worked as the Chief Financial Officer of the Long Island Power Authority for KeySpan Energy. She then returned to the Pataki administration as Deputy Secretary and would become Chief Advisor on finance and housing issues.
Taylor became New York State Superintendent of Banks in 2003, leading the New York State Banking Department and serving as Chair for the New York State Banking Board. She was then Managing Director at Wolfensohn Fund Management and later Vice Chair for Solera Capital.
Taylor also serves on many non-profit and corporate boards, including the International Women's Health Coalition, The New York Women's Foundation, YMCA of Greater New York, and Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.