Cindi Leive, longtime editor in chief of Glamour, resigns
Cindi Leive, Glamour’s editor in chief of 16 years, is ending her tenure at the magazine. Leive, who has been the face of Glamour since 2001 and an employee of Condé Nast for 29 years, will remain at the company until the end of the year in order to wrap up some projects, including Women of The Year, the title’s marquee event in November.
She departs at a tumultuous time at the company, which has experienced a restructuring of the business, as well as steep budget cuts on the editorial side. Last week, Vanity Fair editor in chief Graydon Carter resigned from the company as well. Both Carter and Leive had been rumored to be leaving the publisher for years, speculation that increased recently as both their titles, in common with print in general, have faced challenges in terms of ad dollars.
Leive circulated a memo to her staff on Thursday morning, offering: “I’m writing to share some bittersweet news: I’ve made the decision to leave Glamour by the end of this year. You all know better than anyone how much I have loved my time here — but after 16 years, I feel the moment is right to pass this baton over to the next person ready to run this particular race. … As for what’s next for me: I’ve loved being in conversation with women over the last decade, and I’m excited to go deep into projects that stand to improve women’s lives. This is an electric moment for women and activism, and I plan to be part of that.”
Leive’s successor has yet to be named. Two potential ones have been bandied about by insiders, however, namely, Teen Vogue editor in chief Elaine Welteroth and Allure editor in chief Michelle Lee. Although Welteroth is buzzier, Lee may be a front runner as Allure and Glamour’s business teams were recently combined, perhaps hinting at what’s to come editorially.
Condé Nast artistic director Anna Wintour offered: “Cindi brilliantly edited Glamour for the past 16 years and I want to thank her for her creativity, passion, and dedication. She expanded Glamour from a beautiful monthly print magazine into a relevant brand in digital, video and social media, successfully laying the groundwork for a new generation of leaders and audiences.”
The departure of Leive and Carter are part of a larger turnover in the magazine world, as the old guard of editors is being ushered out for a new guard who tend to be younger and less expensive–and more game to remake the magazines. Over at rival Hearst, another veteran women’s magazine editor in chief, Robbie Myers, resigned to be succeeded by the more Internet-friendly fashion editor Nina Garcia, with Harper’s Bazaar’s Glenda Bailey said to be on her way out by the end of the year. Time Magazine’s Nancy Gibbs also stepped down after a long career at Time Inc.
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