1 January 2019: The Financial Times has announced the appointment of Peter Spiegel as US managing editor from April 15, 2019. He will assume the role from Gillian Tett, who has served in the position from 2010-2012 and again since 2014. Tett is appointed chair of the US editorial board and America editor-at-large. Both Spiegel and Tett will be based in New York, strengthening the FT’s presence in a key growth market.
As US managing editor, Spiegel will lead the FT’s news operations in the region across all platforms. He will take responsibility for the US bureau network, lead on stories and deploy newsroom resources to help drive further expansion of the FT’s American subscriber base.
In her new role as America editor-at-large, Tett will continue to write her two weekly columns while helping to shape global editorial strategy. In addition, she will chair a newly created US editorial board; develop global growth projects that build on her unique profile and expertise; and continue to represent the FT at events around the world.
“America is the land of opportunity for the FT,” said editor Lionel Barber, announcing the appointments. “Gillian Tett is a world-class journalist and intellect who has served with distinction as US managing editor. She has helped shape a US editorial team that is second to none. Peter Spiegel is an outstanding news editor whose dynamism and ability to innovate will ensure our quality journalism reaches its full potential readership in the US.”
Spiegel has been FT news editor for the past three years, based in London. During that time he has successfully transformed the FT’s publishing schedule and helped embed a culture of innovation across the newsroom: Spiegel was key to the Financial Times being named newspaper of the year at the 2018 British Press Awards. He previously spent six years in Brussels as the FT’s bureau chief, leading coverage of the European economic crisis and Europe’s role in global affairs. In 2012 and 2013, Spiegel and his team won back-to-back Society of American Business Editors and Writers awards for their coverage of the eurozone debt crisis. Earlier in his career, he worked at the Wall Street Journal, LA Times and Forbes Magazine.
Tett continues a distinguished career with the FT, where she has held positions including capital markets editor, deputy editor of the Lex column and Tokyo bureau chief. Recognised as a brand in her own right, Tett has published several award-winning books including the much acclaimed The Silo Effect. She has won Columnist of the Year (2014), Journalist of the Year (2009) and Business Journalist of the Year (2008) from the British Press Awards, and also won Foreign Commentator of the Year from Editorial Intelligence (2017) and a Society of American Business Editors and Writers Award (2012). She has received honorary degrees and awards from Carnegie Mellon University, University of Miami, Baruch College, University of London, Lancaster University and Exeter University, and received the British Academy President's Medal.
The Financial Times has earmarked the US for further investment and audience expansion this year. The publication closed 2018 with a record number of paying readers and, in 2019, will reach its goal of one million subscribers globally. It will also move its headquarters from One Southwark Bridge in London to Bracken House, its former home, making the year ahead a landmark one in the FT's 130 year history.
- ends -
For more information, please contact:
Katrina Fedczuk, Communications Manager, US, katrina.fedczuk@ft.com, +1 347 213 1944
Kristina Eriksson, Global Communications Director, UK, kristina.eriksson@ft.com, +44 (0) 20 7873 4961
About the Financial Times:
The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading business news organisations, recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. In 2018 it won a number of key global awards for its quality journalism, including Newspaper of the Year and News Team of the Year at the British Press Awards; News Provider of the Year at the British Journalism Awards; six prizes at the State Street Institutional Journalism Awards; two at the SOPA Awards in Hong Kong; and the highly coveted Orwell and Wincott Foundation journalism prizes.
The FT enters 2019 with a record paying readership of more than 950,000, three-quarters of which are digital subscriptions. It is part of Nikkei Inc., which provides a broad range of information, news and services for the global business community.