Chris Berend is leaving NBCUniversal News Group to become Hearst Magazines' first chief content and experience officer, a newly created role focused on shaping editorial strategy and content across Hearst's stable of titles. The appointment marks a notable executive shift as Hearst brings in an experienced digital media leader to oversee output across its major brands amid continued industry pressure to modernise content and audience engagement.

Berend will start on 3 August, based in New York, and will report to Hearst Magazines president Debi Chirichella. He will oversee editorial strategy, content creation and programming across all platforms for titles including Cosmopolitan, Elle, Esquire, Harper's Bazaar and Good Housekeeping. He was most recently chief digital officer at NBCUniversal News Group, having joined in 2019 from CNN, and earlier held digital roles at Bloomberg and ESPN Magazine; notably, he began his media career as an editor at Hearst's own Esquire.