Baidawi’s appointment takes effect immediately, overseeing the brand’s editorial vision and content strategy across its global network of 12 owned and operated editions. His first print issue will be the September 2026 edition. In this role, Baidawi will also oversee Pitchfork, led by Mano Sundaresan.

Baidawi has served as Deputy Global Editorial Director of GQ and Head of Editorial Content at British GQ since 2021, where he managed GQ’s global editorial leadership. In that role, he helped strengthen alignment across editions while driving editorial innovation and audience growth.

Anna Wintour, Chief Content Officer, Condé Nast, commented “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.

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.”

Adam Baidawi said “it is the honour of my life to lead GQ into a new era, and to build on the legacy of the great editors I grew up admiring. 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.”

Adam has shepherded British GQ to both editorial and commercial success during his time overseeing the brand. He doubled revenue on flagship events including Men of the Year and GQ Heroes since his appointment, and has overseen covers including Paul Mescal, Malala, Charli xcx, Mo Salah, Andrew Garfield and Pierce Brosnan.

Previously, Baidawi was Editor-in-Chief of GQ Middle East from 2018 to 2021. Earlier in his career, he was a correspondent for The New York Times in Australia. His first GQ byline was for the brand’s Australian edition, more than 15 years ago.