WSJ auto reporter Spector has left the paper

Wall Street Journal auto industry reporter Mike Spector has left the newspaper after a dozen years.

In a farewell note, Spector wrote:

Working here was truly a dream come true. You are the best at what you do: hard-hitting, engaging, insightful and world-changing journalism.  It’s been an honor working with you. 

Spector focused on safety, regulation, litigation and government investigations. Previously, he covered deals, private equity and bankruptcies and restructurings.

He previously wrote about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s scrutiny of private-equity fees and broke news on some of the biggest private-equity deals of the past few years, including Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.’s IPO preparations, Blackstone’s purchase of Gates Global, Forest Laboratories’ acquisition of Aptalis, the sale of MultPlan Inc., and the historic bankruptcy preparations and eventual Chapter 11 filing of TXU Corp.

Spector has also contributed to The Journal’s coverage of General Motors’ recall crisis and previously broke news on the the merger of American Airlines and US Airways and the collapses of MF Global, Kodak, Borders, Blockbuster, Hostess Brands and CIT Group, among others.

Spector received a graduate degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York and an undergraduate degree in political science from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.