Condé Nast names new chief product and technology officer

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 22, 2020

Magazine powerhouse Condé Nast has announced the appointment of Sanjay Bhakta to the newly created role of chief product and technology officer.

Bhakta joins from Pearson, the publishing company, where he served as SVP of global platform and product engineering, with responsibility for the global platform for content, digital educational products and services.

Prior to that, he spent three years at HBO, as vice-president of media software engineering.

Bhakta will start his new job on 27 January, overseeing all areas of Condé Nast’s global technology strategy and services and product development. His remit will be to develop game-changing products and services for the company’s portfolio and lead the product management, UX design and engineering teams, reporting directly into Wolfgang Blau, chief operating officer and president of Condé Nast International.

Bhakta said in a statement that he will focus on leveraging technology to drive new and engaging consumer product experiences.

“Sanjay has a unique and compelling blend of experience in media, publishing and data services combined with a truly global outlook on product development and engineering. His experience will support innovation across all our brands and platforms coupled with the engineering expertise to develop it,” Blau commented. 

“The team will be one of the driving forces in uniting the company and helping it to achieve its goals of an enhanced focus on the consumer and the development of new ways to share capabilities and best practices across the company and all our markets.”

Condé Nast, and its portfolio of media brands including Vogue, The New Yorker, GQ, Glamour, AD, Vanity Fair and Wired, has been looking at new ways to make money in the fast changing media landscape.

In addition to merging the US and International businesses, the company launched a new business-focused title last year, Vogue Business.