Almar Latour is recognized as a 2010 Distinguished Alumnus for his extraordinary career in journalism.
A 1994 graduate with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Journalism and Political Science, Mr. Latour is the editor-in-chief for the Wall Street Journal in Asia. His diverse career has taken him from being the features editor at the Penn to Brussels, Washington, Stockholm, London, New York, the Netherlands, and finally to Hong Kong. In his current position, he is responsible for the Asian print edition of the Wall Street Journal, as well as for developing the paper’s digital presence in the region.
His dynamic career began in 1995, when he was an intern for the Wall Street Journal Europe in Brussels. He soon was named news assistant in the Journal’s Washington Bureau, and went on to cover economic and political developments in Eastern Europe as a reporter for the European edition of the Journal. He spent a short time in New York reporting news, and in 1998 became the paper’s correspondent in Stockholm, where he covered economic, political, and business development issues in northern Europe and the Baltic states. In 2001, he joined the paper’s London Bureau and wrote about European telecom and technology topics.
In 2003 Mr. Latour was back in New York City as a technology reporter; he went on to become deputy bureau chief and eventually was named bureau chief. In 2007, he was named managing editor for the Wall Street Journal Online and led an effort that resulted in a 160-percent increase in visitors to the site.
A recipient of the Netherlands’ Fulbright Center’s “campus scholarship” (previously Netherlands American Commission for Educational Exchange), Mr. Latour wrote dozens of front-page stories and garnered a variety of honors for his writing and leadership. He won an award for the “Best Story on Business Leadership” from the World Leadership Council in London for his coverage of the corporate culture at Shell Oil Company.
In addition to his IUP degree, Mr. Latour earned his master’s degree from American University in Washington, D.C. He is married to Abigail, a fellow journalist, and they have two children: Maude and Merel. He recently moved from New York to Hong Kong, China.
Profile published on 5/11/10
2010 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients
