Wired Names Katie Drummond as Its Next Leader

Katie Drummond would be the subsequent high editor of Wired, overseeing the tech publication’s groups world wide.

Condé Nast, the writer of Wired, introduced on Thursday the appointment of Ms. Drummond as its world editorial director. Ms. Drummond joins from Vice Media, the place she was the senior vp of world news and leisure, in control of Vice News and the corporate’s digital manufacturers.

Ms. Drummond would be the first lady to guide Wired in its 30-year historical past. She replaces Gideon Lichfield, who was named world editorial director in March 2021 and introduced his departure in May. In a memo to the employees about his exit, Mr. Lichfield mentioned he had determined to maneuver on from the job and had more and more missed “committing acts of journalism with my own two hands.” He will proceed co-hosting the Wired podcast “Have a Nice Future” till at the least November, he mentioned within the memo.

Ms. Drummond, 37, was an intern at Wired in 2009. She later labored as a reporter for a nationwide safety weblog run by the publication. She mentioned in an interview on Thursday that her private connection to the outlet in addition to the chance to guide protection of the tech world with a world employees made her determination to return “a no-brainer.” Wired has groups within the United States, Italy, Japan, Mexico and Britain.

“When I think about the moment we’re in now,” Ms. Drummond mentioned, “with this very real human toll that we’re feeling and seeing around climate change, with the development of generative A.I., with the sort of unfathomable wealth and power and scope of major technology companies and big tech and the people that leads them, it feels like another sort of inflection moment in technology, in society.”

She added, “That’s exciting to me, to be at Wired at this moment in time.”

Ms. Drummond mentioned that she anticipated to experiment with vertical video merchandise, newsletters and rising platforms to succeed in totally different audiences.

“Wired has a really unique ability to be incredibly enthusiastic and excited about technology and science and innovation while having the credibility and the brand equity to really interrogate and investigate,” she mentioned.

Anna Wintour, the chief content material officer of Condé Nast and world editorial director of Vogue, mentioned in an announcement that Ms. Drummond was “a journalist first and foremost, but also a highly original thinker.”

“Katie is exactly the right editor to lead Wired at a time where the worlds of technology and culture are shifting and colliding every single day,” she mentioned.

Ms. Drummond left Vice this month alongside a number of different high editorial leaders after the corporate was purchased out of chapter for $350 million by Fortress Investment Group and different collectors.

Before her time at Vice, Ms. Drummond was govt editor of Gizmodo Media Group and of The Outline, and a deputy editor at Medium and Bloomberg. She was additionally a managing editor at The Verge, launching their science part. She began her profession as a reporter, writing for shops like The New Republic and Popular Science.

Ms. Drummond will begin at Wired on Aug. 28.