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Will Welch, GQ’s global editorial director and GQ US’s editor in chief, announced on Tuesday that he will be leaving the Condé Nast-owned publication on Feb. 15. He will next take on a new, unspecified role in Paris working alongside Pharrell Williams and Penni Thow, CEO of talent firm Copper.
In a statement posted to his Instagram account, Welch said, “Y’all, logging on with a wild mix of emotions to announce that after almost 19 years, I’ve decided to leave GQ for another opportunity. … Change is good.”
Welch joined GQ in 2007 as an associate editor, and was appointed editor in chief 11 years later. In 2020, he was named global editorial director, overseeing GQ titles across the world. He has also overseen the company’s digital music magazine Pitchfork since January 2024, when it was folded into GQ’s operations.
Welch is credited with redefining a new, progressive vision of masculinity at the publication. He told The Business of Fashion in 2021 that his updated mission statement included an emphasis on “diversity, gender equality, sustainability and mental health.”
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During his tenure as editor in chief, Welch also fortified GQ’s digital presence, especially through short- and long-form video content.
In an email Welch sent to GQ staff on Tuesday, he wrote, “I will forever be proud of the risks we have taken together, the unlikely stories we have told, and the innovations we have forged in an industry that demands fearlessness and change.”
Welch’s exit is the most recent in a series of high-profile shake-ups at Condé Nast, including Anna Wintour’s step back from leading US Vogue’s day-to-day operations, former editor-in-chief Radhika Jones’ departure from Vanity Fair and the layoffs incurred by Teen Vogue’s absorption into Vogue‘s website.
Learn more:
GQ’s New Masculinity Goes Global
Global editors Will Welch and Adam Baidawi tell BoF about how they aim to bring American GQ’s take on masculinity to the magazine’s international editions as part of Condé Nast’s new global strategy.
