Latour named CEO of Dow Jones, publisher of WSJ

News Corp. announced Monday the appointment of Almar Latour as the new chief executive officer of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

Latour, who is currently publisher for Barron’s Group and executive vice president at Dow Jones, will assume the post with the departure of William Lewis, effective May 15. The Barron’s Group portfolio includes Barron’s, MarketWatch, Dow Jones Wealth and Asset Management group, Mansion Global and Financial News.

“Almar Latour is patently well-equipped to helm the world’s pre-eminent journalism, business analysis and professional content company,” said Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp., in a statement. “Over nearly a quarter century at The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones, Almar has ascended from roles as a news assistant and staff reporter, becoming a bureau chief and managing editor, and more recently serving as an editor-in-chief, executive editor and publisher.”

Dow Jones has been notably successful in the digital growth of its businesses, including the Journal, Barron’s and MarketWatch, among others. Dow Jones digital-only subscribers grew 17 percent year-over-year as of the end of 2019, and total consumer subscriptions achieved a record 3.5 million in February. The Journal crossed the 2 million digital subscriber mark in February, and Barron’s subscribers also hit a record.

“Our role is more important than ever before,” said Latour in a statement. “Our millions of readers and users in the U.S. and beyond are all faced with uncertainty in time ahead and our unique brand of factual news and analysis serves to help them make decisions in business, finance and personal life. Will Lewis and the team have left Dow Jones in great shape. We are well positioned to take The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch, Newswires, Factiva and our other brands to more people everywhere and continue — and accelerate — our growth. As always, our mission is to help people put the truth to good ends.”

Latour previously  oversaw two major redesigns for The  Journal’s website, launched numerous successful international and U.S. blogs, revamped The Chinese Wall Street Journal and kicked off The Wall Street Journal in Japan.

Before his promotion to publisher, Latour was executive editor for The Journal and Dow Jones, responsible for unifying the editorial staff into a single global newsroom and transitioning The Journal to a digitally-driven news operation.

He was also editor in chief for The Journal and Dow Jones Newswires in Asia, where he expanded the publishing company’s digital footprint.

Prior to his time in Asia, Latour was managing editor of The Wall Street Journal Online, where he expanded coverage of business and markets, as well as personal finance, sports, travel and multimedia storytelling, and oversaw a major site redesign in September 2008.

He served as bureau chief at the Journal’s technology group in New York and as deputy bureau chief. In March 2005, he won the World Leadership Forum’s business journalism award for “Best Story of Business Leadership” for his coverage of the oil industry.