Media Moves: Haley Katz Bachmann Returns to Hearst Magazines as Head of Fashion and Luxury
Updated April 5, 2023
Haley Katz Bachmann is joining Hearst Magazines as senior vice president of fashion and luxury. She will have oversight of U.S. advertising sales for the luxury and fashion pod, working across the company’s brands, which include Town & Country, Elle, Elle Décor, Harper’s Bazaar and Esquire.
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Katz Bachmann joins Hearst from The New York Times and T Magazine, where she was head of industry for fashion and luxury. She had a stint at Hearst earlier in her career where she held a number of positions including on the Elle integrated sales team. She was a pre-IPO member of Snapchat’s advertising team, an early innovator in social innovation. She starts May 1, and will report to global chief revenue officer Lisa Ryan Howard.
“Haley has a deep understanding of the needs of luxury marketers today and a track record of developing innovative digital solutions for brands,” said Ryan Howard in a statement. “She possesses an extraordinary passion for our business, produces strong results and I am thrilled that she is joining our team as we continue to accelerate our digital transformation.”
Feb. 14, 2023
Veteran media executive Michael Caruso – formerly of The Smithsonian Institution and The Hill – has been named CEO and publisher of The New Republic. Wim McCormack, TNR’s chairman and editor-in-chief made the announcement Feb. 14. Caruso will work closely with McCormack and TNR editor Michael Tomasky.
“The New Republic has been one of the most influential brands in American politics and culture since its inception,” said Caruso in a statement. “It’s been called ‘the in-flight magazine of Air Force One’ and members of Congress and the administration read it avidly—whether they agree with it or not. With all eyes turning toward the 2024 election cycle, this is a perfect time to capitalize on The New Republic’s reach and influence with new initiatives and growth.”
Most recently, Caruso was editorial director of The Hill, where he launched the Washington, D.C.-based publication’s vertical Changing America, which focuses on social justice, climate action and LGBTQ+ issues. According to Caruso, Changing America grew to drive more than one-third of TheHill.com’s online traffic.
At Smithsonian, Caruso spearheaded The Smithsonian Ingenuity Festival and Future Con — both events have attracted a roster of thought leaders across ideologies and disciplines with annual exhibits, concerts, panel discussions, experiments and activations. The American Ingenuity Awards, launched in 2012 under the Smithsonian imprimatur, have attracted a roster of boldface participants including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Steven Hawking, Jeff Bezos, Oprah Winfrey, Stevie Wonder, Chief Justice John Roberts and Rep. John Lewis, while Future Con has been headlined by William Shatner, Patrick Stewart and Buzz Aldrin.
As media company’s scramble to cope with declining advertising revenue in a saturated media market, many have attempted to pivot to – or acquire – event franchises with attendant sponsorship revenue and earned media opportunities. Caruso has a track record in building out multi-platform activations, clearly a priority for McCormack.
“Michael has consistently proven his ability to invent and build innovative products and initiatives that expand brand value, drive audience engagement, and grow revenue,” said McCormack. “The New Republic had a strong 2022 editorially, with the launch of our breaking news vertical, new podcasts and extensive midterms coverage, and we know Michael is the right person to help lead us into the future.”
The New Republic has a storied history as a progressive publication, but endured a rocky few years under the ownership of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes who in 2014, ousted the magazine’s editorial staff in a clumsy attempt to reorient TNR’s ideological stance. McCormack purchased TNR from Hughes in 2016, returning it to its progressive roots.
Caruso – who also led editorial teams at Los Angeles magazine, Details and Men’s Journal, and also previously held editorial positions The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair and The Village Voice – succeeds former publisher Kerrie Gillis.
Sept. 22, 2022
Lisa Ryan Howard joins Hearst Magazines as executive vice president and global chief revenue officer. In the newly created position, Howard will be responsible for U.S. advertising and marketing and Hearst Global Solutions, the company’s international commercial division that creates cross-market solutions for brands. Howard comes to Hearst from The New York Times, where she was global head of advertising and marketing solutions. She also held senior roles at Billboard, Yahoo and WebMD and Condé Nast. She will report to Hearst Magazines president Debi Chirichella.
July 14, 2022
Derek Blasberg is leaving YouTube, where he’s been head of fashion and beauty partnerships since 2018. He announced the move on Instagram and Twitter. The author, former Vanity Fair contributor, Gagosian Gallery fixture and New York bon vivant, launched YouTube’s fashion vertical, recruiting many of his famous friends to the platform including Naomi Campbell and Victoria Beckham.
“We launched YouTube.com/Fashion, the largest aggregate of style video content in the world; during the pandemic, we initiated Digital Fashion Weeks when it wasn’t safe to travel for runway shows; we launched two #beautyfest‘s; we turned digital creators into bonafide fashion stars and supermodels into talk show hosts (I still miss our nightly prep calls @naomi),” he wrote. “[W]e ushered in an entirely new era for style on YouTube!”
He did not reveal his next move.
July 19, 2022
Apartment Therapy, the DIY destination, has promoted several internal staffers. Laura Schocker, formerly editor in chief of Apartment Therapy, becomes chief content officer overseeing all editorial content across all platforms including the websites, video and art for Apartment Therapy Media properties which includes Apartment Therapy, Kitchn and Cubby. Faith Durand, previously editor in chief of Kitchn, takes on an expanded editorial role of senior vp of content working alongside newly hired editorial operations director, Brenda Dargan-Levy. Riva Syrop, formerly chief revenue officer, has been promoted to the new position of president, reporting to founder and CEO Maxwell Ryan
July 18, 2022
Justin Moran is the new editor in chief of Paper magazine effective immediately, said Tom Florio, chief executive officer and founder of ENTech Media Group, parent of Paper.
Moran joined Paper in 2017 as digital director and has lately moved Paper from its print roots to a social media-powered community platform. The magazine ceased print operations at the outset of the pandemic in 2020, when like many legacy print publications, it laid off staff and instituted temporary pay cuts as the pandemic decimated print advertising revenue.
July 14, 2022
Nandi Howard, the erstwhile style editor of Essence, is returning to the magazine in the newly created position of content director. As the company shifts to a digital-first model, she’ll lead the magazine’s digital verticals while Corey Stokes, interim deputy editor and senior vice president creative at Essence Ventures, will continue to run the print magazine. (In 2019, Essence reduced the frequency of its print issues, but added editorial pages to those issues.) Howard, who hails from Houston, left Essence in 2019 to become editor in chief of Houstonia magazine, one of the lifestyle titles published by SagaCity Media, Inc. She starts July 18, and will work remotely from Houston, but plans to relocate to New York City later this year.
July 7, 2022
Willa Bennett has been named editor in chief of Highsnobiety, the culture and fashion media company in which German e-commerce giant Zalando recently acquired a majority stake.
Bennett, 27, comes to Highsnobiety from GQ, where she led the magazine’s social media strategy and penned culture pieces. She will oversee editorial operations from Highsnobiety’s New York City offices. She starts July 25 and reports to founder and chief executive officer David Fischer. Bennett succeeds Thom Bettridge, who left to join Montreal-based multibrand e-tailer Ssense.
June 23, 2022
Lisa Aiken will join Vogue as executive fashion director, Vogue.com, WWD has learned. Aiken will report directly to Anna Wintour, Condé Nast’s chief content officer and global editorial director of Vogue.
Aiken comes to Vogue.com after a year at Neiman Marcus, where she was fashion and lifestyle director. Neiman Marcus confirmed last week that Aiken would leave the company to pursue other opportunities. The company announced an integration of the fashion office and buying teams.
At Vogue.com, Aiken will be tasked with the commerce strategy, working closely with Mark Pilipczuk, senior vice president of consumer revenue. She will lead the commerce team and oversee editorial strategy, responsible for driving commerce revenue growth, new ventures and innovation.
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