Italy’s Esquire Names New Editor in Chief
MILAN — The Italian edition of Esquire has found a new editor in chief in Giovanni Audiffredi, WWD has learned.
The seasoned editor and Condé Nast veteran who has most recently dedicated his career to freelancing and consulting is to join the Hearst-owned men’s publication in January, the media company said Monday.
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He succeeds Massimo Russo, Hearst Italy’s chief content officer, who had taken the helm of the magazine on an interim basis in 2021 following an internal reorganization at the publisher of Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Men’s Health, among other titles. Before Russo took on the interim role, Alan Prada was Esquire’s editor in chief.
“Together with [Massimo] Russo we had been looking for a long time for a professional with the right know-how and background to further develop one of the most storied and relevant Hearst titles in the world,” said Giacomo Moletto, chief executive officer of Hearst Italy. “Audiffredi is certainly a high-profile choice for Esquire, a magazine that is able to describe the evolution of men’s style comprehensively,” he added.
Audifreddi currently contributes regularly to Italy’s progressive newspaper La Repubblica and especially its fashion-leaning weekly supplement D. He is also editorial and content director of Milan-based PR firm Attila & Co. Before that, he had spent more than 14 years of his career at rival publisher Condé Nast where he contributed to lead AD and Vanity Fair before taking on the role of Italy’s GQ editor in chief in 2019.
In his new role at Hearst Italy, Audifreddi will also lead the editorial direction for the Men’s Health and Runner’s World glossies, supporting those titles’ current editor in chief Rosario Palazzolo.
On Monday, Hearst also announced that Nik Piras, currently fashion director at DLui, the men’s supplement to La Repubblica, is joining Hearst as fashion director across Esquire, Men’s Health and Runner’s World.
Piras and Audiffredi have previously worked together at GQ, as the former was the title’s fashion director during the latter’s tenure at the magazine. Piras cut his teeth at women’s magazines including Amica and Velvet.
In light of these appointments, Hearst said that the Italian edition of Esquire will have eight printed issues in 2024.
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