Glamour’s Cindi Leive Becomes 4th Top Magazine Editor to Resign in the Last Week

Vanity Fair, Elle and Time also saw editors-in-chief depart this week

Cindi Leive Glamour
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Glamour editor-in-chief Cindi Leive announced Thursday she’ll be stepping down from her position at the end of the year, the latest development in a massive changing of the guard in the New York magazine industry.

As WWD first reported on Thursday, Leive sent a memo to staff announcing she’ll soon be ending her 29-year tenure at Condé Nast, making her the fourth editor-in-chief departure within the space of a week. She follows Graydon Carter of Vanity Fair, Robbie Myers of Elle and Nancy Gibbs of Time.

“I’m writing to share some bittersweet news: I’ve made the decision to leave Glamour by the end of this year,” Leive wrote. “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.”

In an interview published in the New York Times on Thursday, Leive addressed the fact that her announcement follows so closely after three other top editors, saying, “As in all things magazine related, damn Graydon got there first.”

“That’s a pretty nice outgoing class to be in, I’ll take it,” she added. “We can all hang out in the corner booth somewhere.”

Carter and Leive’s departures come amid a tumultuous period at Condé Nast. The company is expected to roll out another reorganization of its magazine structure in the coming weeks, which will reportedly include major cuts to the editorial and business departments.

No replacement for Leive has been named, but WWD reported that two potential candidates are Teen Vogue editor-in-chief Elaine Welteroth and Allure editor-in-chief Michelle Lee.

“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,” Leive wrote in her memo. “This is an electric moment for women and activism, and I plan to be part of that.”

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