John Koblin of the New York Observer reports Monday that William Li, the publisher of the now-defunct Conde Nast Portfolio, has landed a job as associate publisher of Conde Nast Traveler.
Koblin writes, “‘I wanted to keep working,’ said Mr. Li in an interview with The Observer. ‘I wanted to keep working on a brand that was a strong one and to have opportunities to work at blue chip brands like Condé Nast Traveler don’t come around often.’
“Mr. Li was Portfolio‘s publisher from 2008 until last Monday (and only found out about the magazine’s closing about an hour before he had to inform his staff) and was Men’s Vogue‘s publisher before that. We asked Mr. Li why he decided to take a step back with a No. 2 position instead of holding out for a publisher’s job somewhere else.
“‘It’s less about being No. 2 and more about being with a magazine that’s very established,’ said Mr. Li. ‘There’s a familiarity there and it’s still within David Carey’s group and I really wanted to continue to work with David. I don’t get hung up on the No. 2 number.'”
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