Liz Schimel, Meredith’s chief digital officer for its magazine division, has been tapped by Condé Nast International to lead its China business. As president of Condé Nast China, she’ll oversee the magazine brands Vogue, Self, GQ, AD and Condé Nast Traveler.
Condé Nast International president Jonathan Newhouse said Schimel’s publishing experience, including digital, and her family ties to China made her ideal to lead the business. Schimel is fluent in Mandarin, having studied in Beijing, where she met her future husband. In an interview, she once expressed interest in returning to China to work. Her appointment takes effect in October.
Until Schimel came on board in 2010, Meredith lagged some of its publishing peers digitally. But Schimel saw a big opportunity for Meredith, with its target audience—women—being heavy adopters of technology. Since then, Meredith has launched a magazine tablet strategy; created a premium YouTube channel, Digs, to nab online video ad dollars; and bought Allrecipes from Reader’s Digest Association, more than doubling the size of its online footprint.
Meredith said it is looking at internal and external candidates to fill the position.