Agnes Chu Exits Condé Nast Leisure in Restructuring

Condé Nast is shaking up its video and editorial content material construction, with Condé Nast Leisure president set to go away the corporate amid the adjustments on the finish of this month.

Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch introduced Chu’s departure in a memo to employees Tuesday.

“From increase our movie, tv and leisure enterprise with over 70 tasks in improvement and ten tasks in manufacturing, to serving to develop our digital video viewers to a projected 20B annual video views, she has been a valued member of our management workforce these final three years,” Lynch wrote. “Please be part of me in wishing her all the easiest.”

“I’m proud to go away Condé Nast Leisure higher than the one I joined,” Chu wrote in a memo of her personal. “By constructing and stewarding a cultural second content material technique with our iconic manufacturers, we reworked right into a globally diversified media division. New and returning advertisers actively search the artistic high quality showcased in our branded leisure – driving enterprise up 40% 12 months over 12 months – as do new distribution companions and platforms throughout the leisure panorama who worth our IP and our manufacturing of movie, tv, podcasts and social video. Most significantly, I’m happy with the tradition we’ve created collectively – one in all integrity, teamwork and high quality outcomes. Thanks in your timeless contributions and relentless dedication to artistic excellence.”

Chu joined the venerable publishing large in the summertime of 2020 to steer its leisure division, looking for to remodel its steady of mental property right into a programming powerhouse. Condé manufacturers embody Vogue, Wired, The New Yorker and Self-importance Honest, amongst others.

She had beforehand labored at The Walt Disney Co., the place she was intently concerned within the 2019 launch of Disney+ as senior VP of content material.

Lynch mentioned in his memo that the corporate is growing a brand new organizational construction that will probably be in place by the tip of the 12 months, combining editorial, branded content material, video, and viewers improvement.

“It will permit our editorial expertise to work throughout all mediums as true digital content material specialists, enabling these leaders to inform tales and elevate our journalism throughout all platforms instantly,” Lynch wrote. “Particulars about particular person reporting traces are nonetheless being finalized and we are going to replace everybody when we’ve extra to share.”

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter final 12 months, Lynch defined why the corporate was investing in an leisure division:

“You begin with the beautiful insatiable demand for high-quality content material coming from streaming providers. However the emphasis is on top quality. They’re in heavy competitors with one another about having the most effective content material,” Lynch mentioned. “And the largest constraint is the concepts, the mental properties, which is why you see a lot of what Hollywood is producing is mainly sequels and prequels, bringing again some concept from the ’70s. What we’ve is an enormous treasure trove of IP, and we replenish it day by day. And a few of that was making its method into movie and TV, however not likely by means of us.”

Learn Lynch and Chu’s memos, under.

Topic: Bringing our Content material Groups Collectively

Pricey all, 

I’m writing to share an organizational replace. During the last a number of years we’ve labored to higher align our world-class video and editorial groups in order that they’ll produce the absolute best content material and journalism. Now, we’re able to take the following step, which is able to affirm the place of those groups within the heart of the corporate. 

Earlier than year-end, the members of our top-line management throughout editorial content material, viewers improvement, branded content material and video will transfer into a brand new construction. It will permit our editorial expertise to work throughout all mediums as true digital content material specialists, enabling these leaders to inform tales and elevate our journalism throughout all platforms instantly. Particulars about particular person reporting traces are nonetheless being finalized and we are going to replace everybody when we’ve extra to share.

As a part of these adjustments Agnes Chu will probably be leaving the corporate on the finish of this month and I need to thank her for her many accomplishments with us. From increase our movie, tv and leisure enterprise with over 70 tasks in improvement and ten tasks in manufacturing, to serving to develop our digital video viewers to a projected 20B annual video views, she has been a valued member of our management workforce these final three years. Please be part of me in wishing her all the easiest.

Thanks, as at all times, to everybody for all you do for Condé Nast every day.

My greatest,

Roger

Word from Agnes Chu, President Condé Nast Leisure to her workforce

Despatched October 10

Pricey Condé Nast Leisure Crew, 

I’m writing with the powerful information that I will probably be leaving the corporate.  

These previous 3 years signify a few of the most inspirational experiences of my life – your outstanding creativity, vitality and teamwork drive the storytelling that outline us as human beings and as a tradition, and I’m deeply happy with what we’ve achieved collectively. 

All over the world, our creativity fuels dialog and group. The New Yorker emblem now graces the silver display screen with 7 Academy Award nominations and counting. Together with Self-importance Honest Studios’ Secrets and techniques of Hillsong on FX/Hulu and premieres of The New Yorker Studios’ Cat Individual, Vogue Studios’ LEE, Invisible Magnificence and John Galliano: Excessive and Low previously 12 months alone, we’ve 8 movie and tv tasks in energetic manufacturing throughout our iconic manufacturers. Our award-winning Bon Appetit’s Dinner SOS will have fun reside onstage subsequent week, a part of our revived audio slate that has delighted listeners, yielding 48% development in downloads since our new programming technique. 

Within the final 9 months on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, we engaged new Gen Z audiences with our storytelling affect, scaling our natural video community views almost 20% extra to date this 12 months with 16B+ views in 9 distinct languages throughout our manufacturers. Audiences additionally swiped into the cultural dialog with our international Vogue’s Met Gala, Vogue World, and Self-importance Honest Oscars livestreams and always-on content material, delivering 1.2B views. 

I’m proud to go away Condé Nast Leisure higher than the one I joined. By constructing and stewarding a cultural second content material technique with our iconic manufacturers, we reworked right into a globally diversified media division. New and returning advertisers actively search the artistic high quality showcased in our branded leisure – driving enterprise up 40% 12 months over 12 months – as do new distribution companions and platforms throughout the leisure panorama who worth our IP and our manufacturing of movie, tv, podcasts and social video. Most significantly, I’m happy with the tradition we’ve created collectively – one in all integrity, teamwork and high quality outcomes. Thanks in your timeless contributions and relentless dedication to artistic excellence.

I’d additionally prefer to thank Roger Lynch, Anna Wintour, David Remnick and all of the editors for his or her belief. I’ll proceed to be a lifelong fan of the journalism and the leisure from the most effective and brightest minds at Condé Nast. 

Agnes