It’s been a busy month for Condé Nast. In the past few weeks alone, the company announced that it would be spinning off Lucky magazine, reorganizing its food properties and selling WWD owner Fairchild Fashion Media. Now, Condé is continuing on its news spree with the announcement that Lou Cona, president and CRO of the Condé Nast Media Group, will be leaving the company, while Vanity Fair vp, publisher Edward Menicheschi will be replacing Cona in the role of president and CMO.
Menicheschi has been the publisher of Vanity Fair since 2006. Previously, he was the president of Fairchild Fashion Media. He began his career at Condé in 1986 as the fashion marketing manager for GQ. Notably, he later held both editorial and publishing positions at Condé powerhouse Vogue, as its executive editor from 1992 to 1994 and associate publisher from 1994 to 1999.
“Edward has posted extraordinary business results while leading Vanity Fair's drive into cross-platform ad initiatives including digital, print, video and event activation,” Condé Nast president Bob Sauerberg said in a statement. “As we build the team that will lead Condé Nast forward, we will rely on Edward to bring his shrewd business skills, his strong relationships and his proven leadership abilities to elevate the company’s advertising and marketing power.”
“This is an unprecedented opportunity to transform the Condé Nast Media Group to more effectively reach premium audiences, cultivate data services, and innovate new ad products, native and client solutions, and large cross-platform deals,” added Menicheschi.
Cona, who was named CRO of the Media Group in 2010, added the president title just over a year ago. Like Menicheschi, Cona had also been vp, publisher of Vanity Fair, and later, held the same position at The New Yorker.
Vanity Fair was down about 2 percent in its September ad pages and down a little over 1 percent for the year, according to Media Industry Newsletter. The magazine, which has been under the editorial leadership of Graydon Carter for more than two decades, has seen major growth on its digital side in recent years, launching new verticals like VF Hollywood and introducing native ads a year ago.
Sauerberg said that the company plans to name Menicheschi’s successor shortly.