Ryan Watts has been hired by The Wall Street Journal as director of visual storytelling.

He will start next month and report to associate editor Taneth Evans.

Watts will work with coverage chiefs and our visual journalists across the newsroom to set an ambitious strategy for compelling, visually-led stories.

Watts started out in local newspapers before rising through the ranks at The Times of London where he led the combined data journalism and digital storytelling team.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Warwick and a master’s degree from City University of London.