Roula Khalaf

Spear’s Review

The first female editor of the Financial Times, Roula Khalaf steers one of the world’s most influential business publications and helps set the agenda for the City of London.

Born in Beirut in 1965, Khalaf joined the FT in 1995 as a North Africa correspondent, covering Iraq, the Gulf, North Africa and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Fearless and determined, she often reported from conflict zones before becoming Middle East editor and later deputy editor from 2016. In 2020 she was appointed editor, bringing a global perspective and a commitment to expanding the publication’s relevance.

Khalaf has been credited with broadening the appeal of the stalwart publication. In an interview with the Press Gazette, she explained, ‘I think that we may have been too narrow in the past in what we consider to be an FT story. Because an FT story is a story that is relevant to our readers.

‘And we can help our readers in telling them what we also think should be relevant to them. There was a time when a lot of readers did not like stories about climate change. But climate change became a very relevant topic for business.’

Khalaf wants her journalists to be ‘curious, demanding, searching, tenacious – and to get the best stories’, a standard reflected in the numerous UK and international awards the paper continues to win. Describing herself as a hands-on boss who loves the buzz of the newsroom, she says that she strives for diversity both in the newsroom and in the FT readership. 

A champion of digital journalism, Khalaf has also overseen the expansion of video, data-driven reporting and multimedia content, driving subscriptions past one million in 2022.

With a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University, Khalaf embodies an internationally minded, UK-based head of a global media outlet – a pivotal figure shaping the flow of business information and a vital ambassador for brand Britain.

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