James S. Taylor has successfully started and grown several multi-million-dollar companies by leveraging his knowledge and experience of the US and Mexico markets. Born in Texas and raised in Mexico, James draws on his bi-cultural background as well as decades of bi-national experience working at the intersection of business and government.

James is a founding partner of Vianovo, a strategic advisory firm for high-stakes brand, policy and crisis communication issues. In 2004, he founded CIMA Strategies, S.A. de C.V., a Mexican company dedicated to marketing and selling cutting-edge law enforcement technologies. James most recent venture as a partner with Grupo Compadres, LLC, involves producing and marketing SUSTO® Mezcal, a new brand of Mexico’s oldest agave spirit.

He is involved with several non-profit organizations including: Advisory Board member of the Texas Book Festival and Advisory Board member of The Wittliff Collections.  He is a founding member of the Austin Council on Foreign Affairs and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. In 2018, the Government of Spain named James as its first Honorary Consul of Spain in Austin, Texas.

James earned his bachelor’s degree in international studies from Texas State University and pursued graduate studies at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin and completed the Executive Education Program at Stanford University.