So much for that ambassador role! Anna Wintour is named 'artistic director' of Conde Nast - but don't worry Vogue, she's going nowhere

Anna Wintour is making a sweeping move from editor to executive, taking on a new role as artistic director of Condé Nast.
The 63-year-old, who has been the editor of Vogue for 25 years, will continue her editorship, but in the additional role she will assume some of the 'consulting' responsibilities once held by chairman S. I. Newhouse Jr.
Charles H. Townsend, the chief executive of Condé Nast, told the New York Times: 'I would go to great distances to avoid losing Anna, particularly in the prime of her career.'

Editor to executive: Anna Wintour, 63, will add the job title 'artistic director' to her resume, a new role she will carry out in addition to her duties as Vogue's editor

Ms Wintour's new role finally puts persistent rumors about a possible ambassadorship in the Obama administration to rest.
So what does an artistic director for one of America's largest publishing companies actually do?

Ms Wintour views her additional role as 'almost like being a one-person consulting firm,' she said.
Helping to shape, or perhaps reshape, the culture of the company and the image of its publications, part of her new job will be to look for new talent.

She said: 'It isn’t about a machine or an iPhone or an iPad. It’s about people.'
Ms Wintour will also have a say in the company's new developments, including its recent entertainment division, and will most likely be a sounding board for editors.

'This is an extension of what I am doing, but on a broader scale'

'It is something I do a lot anyway in my role at Vogue,' Ms Wintour said of her broad creative duties.
'I advise all sorts of people in the outside world, and really, I see this as an extension of what I am doing, but on a broader scale.'
She may even take on Mr Newhouse's famous role of reviewing and vetting the covers of magazines like Vanity Fair, GQ, Glamour and Architectural Digest.

Last year, Mr Newhouse, 85, quietly transitioned out of his editorial management role at Condé Nast’s headquarters in Times Square.
'Si Newhouse leaves a void, inevitably,' Mr Townsend said. 'Anna, without even having to think twice about it, is the most qualified person to pick up that torch and carry it into the future.'
He added of the role he created for Ms Wintour: 'I fear we could end up looking more like Time Inc. I don’t want to look like a gray-suited business.'