Until recently the deputy national editor at The Wall Street Journal, Raju Narisetti has a new assignment. He has been appointed the Managing Editor of The Wall Street Journal Europe and assigned to run the paper's operations across the Atlantic.

The decision was announced only last week and Narisetti said it was a 'little bit of a prolonged process'.

"You don't say no to such an opportunity, but yes, I was taken by surprise," he told rediff.com, primarily because he had been appointed deputy national editor only a few months back.

"I had always thought, even in India, that it would be fun to actually run a paper," says Narisetti, who came to the US in 1990 with "$2,300 in Travellers Checks and two suitcases" to do a masters in journalism at the Indiana University in Bloomington.

"It's going to be a challenge, especially given that we are taking on The Financial Times on their home turf but competition is always good," he says. "Besides, Europe is at a very interesting cultural, political and economic stage right now, and it will interesting to look at smart stories that have a global reach."

Narisetti joined The Journal as a reporting intern in 1991 and has rapidly moved through the ranks to his current position, one of the highest in the organisation. "Besides a bit of luck, it is a tribute to this country and organisation to let someone who was not born or brought up in the US to have this role," he told rediff.com.

He says it sends out a message to other Indians who are not necessarily in the traditional areas of medicine or engineering that Indians are known to excel in. "There has been a hidden wave of professionals in many areas, and journalism now has a lot of Indians," he says.

"I would like to provoke a reaction from other Indians like 'If he can do it, so can I'."

Narisetti's appointment also comes at a time when the Journal is readjusting itself structurally. "We have much better resources and reach than most others and we want all our editions to take advantage of the resources and skills from around the world," he says. 

Having been a reporter himself, having covered such diverse areas as manufacturing, consumer goods and information technology, Narisetti has no regrets about slipping into an editorial role. "I do miss the reporting and the writing, but it is good to have a say on topics and stories," he admits. "It's a balancing act."

Narisetti will move to Brussels later in December to take up his new assignment. "I am unable to focus on my current job because I have to move. So I might as well go early and get started," says Narisetti, whose family, comprising wife Kim, a freelance journalist and 10-month-old daughter Leila, will join him there.