Condé Nast has named Adam Baidawi global editorial director of GQ, placing the 35-year-old editor in charge of the men’s title worldwide and extending a run of senior promotions from within the company.
The appointment signals both continuity and generational change at the publisher, which has reshaped its top ranks in recent months while seeking to position its flagship brands for a more competitive and politically charged media environment.
Baidawi, who previously led British GQ and served as deputy global editorial director, will now oversee GQ’s US and international editions as well as Pitchfork, the music publication folded into GQ in 2024. He succeeds Will Welch, who announced in January that he would leave the role to move to Paris to work with Pharrell Williams, the musician and men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton.
In June, Mark Guiducci became editor of Vanity Fair, while Chloe Malle succeeded Anna Wintour as American Vogue’s top editor. Wintour remains Vogue’s global editorial director and Condé Nast’s chief content officer.
Baidawi began his career as a music writer in Australia and became editor in chief of GQ Middle East in 2018 at age 28. He later assumed oversight of British GQ and global editorial responsibilities.
“I’m curious to propose a version of masculinity that is yes, progressive, yes, modern, but is also sexier and cooler and more aspirational and more desirable than some of the nihilism or cruelty or vanity that we see out there,” Baidawi said.
He will relocate to New York. His first print issue will publish in September.
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