Mark Russell, Executive Director – Business Operations, Condé Nast

Q1: It’s been a busy year, what have been some of the highlights from your business in 2024? 

So much, as ever! It was incredibly exciting to see Chioma Nnadi and the Vogue team launch her first print issue of the title in April, which was a real collector’s edition. But also what her team has done with social media, TikTok in particular, has been great for the brand and our audience. Particularly, I am thinking around fashion weeks and tentpoles such as our Fashion & Film Party, The Met Gala, and Vogue World. This all followed on brilliantly from Edward Enninful’s spectacular final issue, of course.

GQ‘s Heroes event at Soho Farmhouse in the summer has gone from strength to strength and was better than ever, likewise the continued success of GQ’s Men of the Year and Glamour‘s Women of the Year, which deliver again and again, and brings out the A list. The reach of the content goes far, far beyond the rooms in which these take place and, I think, gives our audience something they don’t get elsewhere. 

I’ve also been especially pleased to see some of our brands’ amazing initiatives taken to our other markets, such as our Wired Health summit, which we took to Berlin. Our CN Traveller Global Editorial Director, Divia Thani – who is based in our London offices – also did an amazing job of leading the launch of a new German iteration of the brand. To have these moments so well supported by our advertising partners was incredible. 

Internally, we’re really excited having brought in our new Chief Business Officer, Luke Robins, previously at Dazed and The Economist, and our recently announced move of Andrea Latten, CN Germany’s Chief Business Officer, to become our new Fashion Luxury and Beauty Head of Industry. 

Q2: What are some of the standout commercial partnerships from this year?

We’re incredibly lucky with the brands and agencies that we get to work with year after year at Condé Nast, from Chanel, LVMH, and Richemont to EsseenceMediacom, Mindshare, and Dentsu – and we’ll never take that for granted. In terms of new partners, though, Jo Malone London were a joy for the team to work with on GQ‘s Men Of The Year, while Octopus Energy really is a wonderful partner for Wired Health.

Q3: What are your top priorities for 2025?

To continue to evolve our business – it’s the challenge of consistently producing brilliant content and creative for our audience in our core areas, and finding opportunities to work with partners on this, while also diversifying. We have a really exciting opportunity at Condé Nast where we have brought together our commercial and consumer revenue divisions, which will help drive innovation in our teams in 2025.

Q4: What are you most looking forward to over the festive break? 

Catching up on all the culture that I have missed, but pretended to watch/read/listen to, in 2024! Starting with Joseph O’Neill’s Godwin, the Lee Miller biopic Lee, and The Cure’s Songs Of A Lost World.