David Pilling

David Pilling is Africa Editor and columnist at the Financial Times. He covers business, politics and development and has been an FT foreign correspondent and commentator for more than 20 years. Before covering Africa he was Asia Editor and Assistant Editor and has held positions as Tokyo Bureau Chief, Pharmaceuticals Correspondent, Deputy Features Editor and Buenos Aires/Santiago Correspondent.

Pilling is the author of two books, The Growth Delusion (2018), shortlisted for the Orwell Prize, and the highly acclaimed Bending Adversity: Japan and the Art of Survival (2016).

He is a regular moderator and speaker both at the FT and for organisations such as the World Bank and OECD. In 2023, he briefed senior officials at a G7 meeting in Kamakura. He has won several prizes for his columns, features and reporting.