For the first time in its 170-year history, British news agency Reuters, one of the largest in the world, has appointed a woman to be editor in chief, and that woman is Italian.
Forty-seven-year-old Rome native Alessandra Galloni replaces Stephen J. Adler, who, after 10 years at the helm of the agency during which it won seven Pulitzer Prizes, is retiring this April.
Galloni graduated from Harvard University in 1995 and went on to obtain a master's degree from the London School of Economics in 2002. She speaks four languages and joined Reuters in 2013, first as editor of the Southern Europe bureau, and then as global managing editor, overseeing the agency’s news coverage and journalists in 200 locations around the world. She is based in London.
Galloni’s impressive resume includes 13 years working for The Wall Street Journal as a correspondent in London, Paris and Rome, focusing on economics and business coverage. She is a recipient of various journalism awards, including the Overseas Press Club Award in the U.S. and the U.K. Business Journalist of the Year Award for her work on the Parmalat bankruptcy story.
Reuters made the announcement on Twitter, stating “Reuters News will name one of its top editors, Alessandra Galloni, as its next editor-in-chief, making her the first woman to lead the news agency in its 170-year history.” To which Galloni responded on her own Twitter account, “I am honored to lead the best editorial office in the world!”
So honored to lead the best newsroom in the world! https://t.co/BoaNp7RWkG
— alessandra galloni (@aagalloni) April 13, 2021
Galloni will now lead a worldwide staff of approximately 2,450 journalists and 600 photojournalists spread across 200 locations around the world.
Since 2008, Reuters, founded in London in 1851, has been part of the Thomson Reuters Corp company. It is one of the largest news agencies in the world. Among the topics at the center of the news agency's interest are political news and economics, as well as climate change and international politics.
Galloni’s appointment takes effect on April 19.
