Steve Coll is an esteemed American journalist, academic, and executive renowned for his significant contributions to the field of journalism. Coll's career is marked by his tenure as the dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he also served as the Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism until 2022. He is a prolific staff writer for The New Yorker and has held the position of president and CEO of the New America think tank from 2007 to 2012.

Coll's journalism accolades are extensive and include two Pulitzer Prize awards, two Overseas Press Club Awards, a PEN American Center John Kenneth Galbraith Award, an Arthur Ross Book Award, a Livingston Award, a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, a Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award, and the Lionel Gelber Prize. His involvement with the Pulitzer Prize Board as a voting member from 2012 to 2013, and subsequent ex officio capacity as the dean of the Columbia Journalism School, underscores his influence in the field.

As an author, Coll has penned several impactful books such as The Deal of the Century: The Break-Up of AT&T (1986), The Taking of Getty Oil (1987), Eagle on the Street (with David A. Vise, 1991), On the Grand Trunk Road: A Journey into South Asia (1994), Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (2004), and The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century. His writing extends beyond books, having also served as a foreign correspondent and senior editor at The Washington Post for 20 years, including a period as the paper's managing editor from 1998 to 2004.