WSJ/Dow Jones names new Paris deputy bureau chief

Wall Street Journal international editor Matt Murray made the following staff announcement on Wednesday:

I’m very pleased to announce that David Gauthier-Villars has been promoted to deputy bureau chief in the joint Paris Wall Street Journal-Dow Jones Newswires bureau.

As deputy to Grainne McCarthy, David is stepping up at a time of intense interest in Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, the health of France’s banks and ahead of an upcoming presidential election, even as France plays an ever increasing role in global affairs. He will continue to write himself, helping to lead and shape coverage of France and its key position at the core of the euro zone.

David joined the company as a reporter with Dow Jones Newswires in 1999, covering European aerospace, French energy and the French economy, successively. He moved to the Wall Street Journal as a reporter in 2006. He has covered France broadly, with a particular focus on foreign policy and its role in Africa and the Middle East. David has written about the mysterious archive loss at HSBC’s Swiss branch, the rogue trader at Société Générale, the intricacies of herding in Mauritania and Corsica, the struggle to reshape France’s healthcare system and the dark side of adoption in Haiti.

Before joining Dow Jones, David worked in Russia as a freelance reporter. During its brief existence, he was editor-in-chief of “La Gazette,” a weekly for French speakers in Moscow.

David has a master’s degree in Russian and East-European studies from Paris’ Sciences-Po university as well as degrees in Russian and economics.