Deborah Ball appointed as WSJ Asia editor

Deborah Ball

The Wall Street Journal has appointed Deborah Ball as Asia editor this week.

Based in Singapore, Ball will oversee coverage in the region with a team of reporters and editors located across Asia. Previously based in London as a deputy world coverage chief, she will continue in this role in APAC from Singapore, reporting to WSJ World Coverage Chief Gordon Fairclough. 

Ball’s contributions to the Journal span over 25 years, where she has played a crucial role in covering some of Europe’s biggest stories, including the Ukraine war. She has also covered a diverse range of business, finance and political stories in Milan, London, Rome and Zurich. She is the author of “House of Versace,” published by Random House in 2010.

Ball replaces Andrew Dowell, who moves to Dubai to be the Middle East editor, overseeing correspondents in the region covering the war in Israel, the increasing tensions in the region and the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia. In his seven years as Asia editor, Dowell oversaw a team that won a number of honors including a Gerald Loeb Award, a Livingston Award, multiple awards from the Society of Publishers in Asia, and designation as a Pulitzer Prize finalist.