Thorold Barker Keynote Speaker

Editor, EMEA, The Wall Street Journal (2013–2023)
Expanded WSJ CEO Council to 350+ global leaders (2013–2023)
Led WSJ Europe’s transition to all-digital publishing

Thorold Barker 's Biography

Thorold Barker was the Editor for Europe, Middle East and Africa for the Wall Street Journal during a period of intense change from 2013-2023, when the region weathered a financial crisis, a surge in populist politics, multiple terror attacks, Brexit, the Covid pandemic, war in the Middle East and in Ukraine, as well as seismic shifts in global trade, technology and finance. During his tenure he oversaw the transition from a European print publication to an all-digital offering.

He was also the masthead editor overseeing all global events and live journalism, including the CEO Council, the Future of Everything Festival in New York and Tech Live in Laguna Beach. He helped build the CEO Council membership to over 350, hosting two flagship events each year in London and Washington DC. Thorold’s live interviews have included Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Christine Lagarde, Rishi Sunak, David Attenborough, Satya Nadella, Ana Botin, Ryan Reynolds, Antony Blinken, David Solomon, Ray Dalio, Mark Carney, Olaf Sholz, and John Kerry. He has regularly hosted high level panels and dinners at the World Economic Forum and other global events.

Before joining the Wall Street Journal in 2008, to recreate the paper’s Heard on the Street Column at the height of the financial crisis, he was U.S. Lex Column Editor for the Financial Times in New York. Thorold started his career as a strategy consultant at Bain & Co and has a degree in Modern Languages from Trinity College Cambridge.

Geopolitical risk & the shifting world order

Market signals every CEO should track next

Digital disruption, trust and the future of news

Crisis leadership: lessons from a turbulent decade

Europe, US & emerging markets: policy paths ahead

He led Wall Street Journal coverage across Europe, the Middle East and Africa from 2013 to 2023, bringing leaders a clear, lived view of decision-making through crisis, disruption and geopolitical shock.
He steered the region’s transition from a European print edition to an all-digital operation, translating media transformation into practical lessons on strategy, reinvention and execution under pressure.
He has interviewed the world’s most influential CEOs and policymakers, turning high-level conversations into actionable insight on leadership, power and the forces reshaping business.
He built and hosted the WSJ CEO Council to more than 350 members and oversaw global live journalism and flagship festivals, delivering the pacing, judgement and authority that elevate senior-stage conversations.
He combines newsroom leadership with a foundation in Bain strategy consulting and Financial Times markets reporting, helping audiences connect macro change to boardroom choices, risk and opportunity.