Condé Nast CEO Sauerberg relinquishing role

Robert A. Sauerberg Jr., Condé Nast’s chief executive, is stepping down as the magazine publisher confronts declines in circulation and advertising that have forced it to cease publication of some titles, trim the staffs at others and take additional steps to cut costs.

The company, whose publications include Vogue, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, said on Tuesday that Sauerberg would relinquish his role after a successor is found. The next person to fill the job will hold the title of global chief executive, a new position at the head of both Condé Nast and Condé Nast International. The two units have historically operated as separate companies.

The change in leadership at the company comes months after Sauerberg announced a sweeping plan to address the struggles at Condé Nast, which is based in New York.

A note sent to employees Tuesday morning on behalf of the Condé Nast board said the company had spent the past year developing strategies to “meet the rapidly evolving media landscape,” acknowledging that the industry “is increasingly becoming more global.”

Last year, Condé Nast lost more than $120 million. It has put three magazines, Brides, Golf Digest and W, up for sale. Last week, it said it would end regular print publication of Glamour after a nearly 80-year history.

Condé Nast, which was run for years by publishing mogul S.I. Newhouse, is a subsidiary of Advance Publications, which is privately owned by the billionaire Newhouse family.

While Condé Nast has struggled, its European counterpart, whose publications include British Vogue and Vanity Fair Italia, has thrived. Its president is a rising star at the company, Wolfgang Blau, 50, who joined as chief digital officer in 2015 and rose to his current position in 2017.