By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
For Janel Taylor, a senior vice president in Regions’ Human Resources division, investing comes in a number of ways. “When you invest in people, you invest in performance,” she said. “That’s something I’ve seen both professionally and personally. Growth happens when you create space for it.”
Taylor’s investments have paid dividends. Last year she was named to American Banker magazine’s 2025 Most Powerful Women in Banking: Next list.
In 2023, she was named to the Birmingham Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list.
“It’s a moment of gratitude,” Taylor said. “Gratitude for the mentors, allies and leaders who invested in me — and for the flexibility and support systems that allowed me to grow as a leader and a mother at the same time.”
Taylor joined Regions nine years ago and quickly became known for her ability to connect talent strategy with business outcomes. She is a key leader within the bank’s Learning and Development group, where she manages the bank’s Emerging Talent Program, an early career program created to train and develop current college students and recent college graduates as they begin to build a career with Regions.
She earned her Bachelor of Science in Management from the University of Alabama at Birmingham; MBA from Columbia Southern, and post graduate training from the University of Texas, in Austin.
Before arriving at the Birmingham-based bank, Taylor helped establish a major HR call center at another institution — an early accomplishment that improved employee support while enabling HR professionals to tackle more strategic work.
That success marked the beginning of a career defined by innovation and a forward-thinking approach to leadership.
As her career advanced, Taylor also grew her family. Around the time she became a mother, she found herself drawn to the idea of pursuing an MBA — one that would deepen her analytical capabilities without derailing the momentum she had built professionally.
She enrolled in the online MBA program at Columbia Southern University (CSU) in Orange Beach, an Alabama-based institution known for its flexible learning model.
“The program was rigorous, flexible, and accessible,” Taylor said. “It gave me the opportunity to pursue a world-class education while balancing the realities of work and motherhood. I could study after my child went to bed or between meetings, without having to compromise the quality of the experience.”
For Taylor, CSU’s MBA program became more than a credential—it became a bridge between the leader she was and the leader she aspired to become. The coursework strengthened her ability to make data-informed decisions, manage cross-functional teams and refine her leadership philosophy.
“It sharpened my ability to think systematically and lead intentionally,” she said. “The leadership courses, in particular, challenged me to define what kind of leader I wanted to be — not just in business, but in life.”
Here’s some of what Taylor had to say after being named to the Birmingham Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list.
- What accomplishment are you most proud of in your career?
When I reflect on my accomplishments, I’m most proud of the development and progression of my associates. At Regions we dedicate significant energy in the engagement and empowerment of our associates. When I see my team members tap into their strengths and achieve great measures, I’m excited to witness their impact on the organization.
- What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I’ve received is to be my authentic self. It’s incredibly easy to allow self-doubt and negative self-talk to occupy space and destroy your confidence. When I became comfortable bringing my whole self to every organization and every interaction and every relationship, it’s then when my career really took off.
- What’s a lesson you learned from a mistake?
HR can be incredibly fast paced. When you’re serving an entire enterprise, everything is a fire. Through mistakes, I’ve learned that I cannot do everything, be everything, and be everywhere. So, I’ve learned to take my time and be thoughtful in everything I do.
- Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In the next 10 years I would love to dedicate more time to Board work. Through my service to the Junior League of Birmingham, we receive extensive training in what it means to be a member of a Board and I’d love to serve organizations through executive leadership.
- What would it take to get more young people to embrace Birmingham?
Birmingham is a beautiful city with something for everyone. I moved here 20 years ago and fell in love with the restaurants, and theatres, and parks. Birmingham is a great place to raise a family and there are amazing communities and schools right here in the city. Also, other major metro are very easy to get to. After having more than your fill on everything Birmingham has to offer, you can visit Atlanta, Nashville, or New Orleans but enjoy the fruits of Birmingham without the price tag and the traffic.
- What’s one change you would make to improve Birmingham
I would work to solve food insecurity in every community. Investment in organizations like Jones Valley are critical to the communities they serve.
- If you could go back and tell your teenage self something, what would it be?
My teenage years were interesting. I would tell myself that everything is OK and even the things that aren’t OK, always work themselves out. On the other side of a test, there’s always a testimony.
- What would you like to see Birmingham accomplish by 2033?
I would love to see our roads improved and the return of a large music festival with a variety of big name musical acts.
- What is the biggest lesson you learned during the pandemic?
The importance of good health is the biggest lesson I took away from the Pandemic. Being in HR and having a team responsible for the health and welfare of associates, exposed me to the tremendous threat that was Covid-19. I saw a lot of sick individuals working hard to recover from the virus and it empowered me to take better care of myself.
- What’s an interesting fact about you that not everyone knows?
These are so difficult to answer. If I had to pick one thing, I would share that my daughter and I share the same birthday. Getting pregnant was especially difficult for me and my husband so imagine our delight when it finally happened. To then have my only child, a daughter, on my birthday was really really special.
- If you had to choose a different career, what would you pick and why?
I love serving the Birmingham community. If I had to pick a new career, I would go into a nonprofit focused on underserved communities or children with disabilities.
- If you could pick one superpower, what would it be?
My superpower would be to create more time.
- What is the top thing on your bucket list?
Riding the Eastern and Oriental Express around Southeast Asia is high on my list. The cabins are exquisite and the food looks amazing.
