The Financial Times appoints Jamie Smyth

The Financial Times says in his new role, Smyth will oversee all stateside coverage of the oil and gas sector, including supermajors like ExxonMobil and Chevron, as well as the new investment pouring into the renewables industry thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax incentives. A big part of Smyth’s remit will be the intersection of business and politics, where energy security has moved sharply up the agenda following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, added the publisher.

Smyth will also lead Energy Source, the FT’s twice-weekly newsletter with news, analysis and opinion on the oil and gas industry, as well as the broader energy sector. Under Smyth’s leadership, the publisher says Energy Source will be relaunching with a fresh look and new content later this year.

“The energy industry has everything the FT cares about: big money, global players, geopolitical conflict, technological disruption – the works,” said US managing editor Peter Spiegel. “Jamie has been one of the FT’s most intrepid foreign correspondents, making him the perfect person to tell the American energy story in a global context.”

“It’s a thrilling time to cover the energy industry,” said Jamie Smyth, US energy editor. “The pace and permutations of the energy transition and the renewed focus on energy security amid the war in Ukraine are among the most important stories in the world.”

Smyth joined the FT in 2014 and has since held roles on three continents. Most recently, he was the US pharmaceutical correspondent, covering the Covid-19 pandemic and fentanyl crisis. Prior to this, he was Australia and South Pacific correspondent in Sydney and Ireland correspondent in Dublin.