Smith named editor in chief of Laptop Magazine

Sherri L. Smith has been named editor in chief of Laptop Magazine.

She is believed to be the first black woman to be editor of a business or tech magazine.

Smith is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Laptop Mag in terms of content and talent development. “It’s a balancing act of managing site budgets, working with a number of teams including our e-commerce and audience teams with an overall goal to become No. 1 in several key categories including best laptops, gaming laptops, etc,” said Smith.

“But in the grand scheme of things, I like to think of myself as a brand ambassador for both Laptop and Future PLC at large, a passionate journalist and a potential mentor for up-and-coming journalists,” she added.

Smith has been been covering technology seriously for about 15 years. She started her career at BlackPlanet.com and MiGente as an entertainment writer. From there, she moved to Inc.com and FastCompany.com where she worked as a community moderator for IncBizNet and Company of Friends. However, she managed to finagle her way into writing a few articles for FastCompany.com as well as contributing to a few of the larger features.

She went freelance for awhile, writing for BET.com, BlackWeb20.com and PopGadget. In 2010, she was hired by Laptop as a staff writer and have worked her way up to a senior staff writer, editor, assistant managing editor and now editor in chief.

“I was always an avid gamer and my mother made sure to put me in activities that spoke to those interests, even so far as to place me in a magnet school called High Technology High for a year,” said Smith. “I don’t think she really knew she was setting the foundation for my current career path. But for me, I think I really caught the tech bug at FastCompany as I was writing about gaming and super cars, two of my passions.”

Laptop Mag helps consumers choose the best laptop. Its editors and writers thoroughly evaluate the latest Windows notebook, MacBooks, Chromebooks, 2-in-1s and tablets that come through its independent lab.

Its parent company, Future PLC, owns more than 80 publications, including Broadcasting & Cable, Tom’s Guide, PC Gamer and MusicWeek.