Adam Baidawi is GQ’s new global editorial director, effective immediately, Condé Nast announced today, succeeding Will Welch.
“Adam makes perfect sense to lead GQ because he’s a writer and journalist first — a cultural thinker at a time when the culture needs to be thought through, and even interrogated a little,” said Anna Wintour, chief content officer at Condé Nast, in a statement. “Having worked all over the world, he has a global sensibility, plenty of wit and style, and an easy collegiality with the editors he works with. This is someone GQ’s readers can expect to challenge received wisdom — about modern masculinity and the worlds of celebrity, sport, and fashion — and have a lot of fun doing so.”
Baidawi has led British GQ since 2021 as head of editorial content, along with serving as deputy global editorial director of GQ. In this role, he doubled revenue on flagship events including Men of the Year and GQ Heroes, and has overseen covers including with Paul Mescal, Malala Yousafzai and Charli XCX. Previously, Baidawi — who is of Iraqi and Australian heritage — served as editor-in-chief of GQ Middle East, from 2018 to 2021, where he was the title’s youngest-ever editor, and also served as Australia correspondent for The New York Times.
In this role, he will oversee GQ’s editorial vision and content strategy across a global network of 12 owned and operated editions, and will oversee Pitchfork, which is led by Mano Sundaresan. Baidawi’s first print edition for GQ will be for September 2026.
“It is the honor of my life to lead GQ into a new era, and to build on the legacy of the great editors I grew up admiring,” said Baidawi in a statement. “GQ has remarkable power to define the conversations around style, culture and masculinity. I look forward to using that power in new and surprising ways. I’m grateful to Anna and to our global teams for their trust. We have ambitious work ahead.”