Stylist editorial director Lisa Smosarski has been promoted to managing director to lead growth of memberships, its B2B insights offering and brand partnerships.
Smosarski launched Stylist as founding editor in 2009 when it was a free weekly magazine. It went monthly in 2022 and parent company DC Thomson said print “remains at the heart of the brand”.
She told Press Gazette last year that Stylist had begun focusing on its core community via paid subscriptions and memberships (two separate offerings) and was approaching 100,000 paying digital subscribers. About 25% of Stylist’s online content each month was being paywalled.
Parent company DC Thomson said Smosarski will now lead Stylist as it scales up its memberships, builds Think Stylist as a B2B insight and analysis offering for clients, and grows brand partnerships like its recent collaborations with Google, Pandora, Intrepid Travel and Tu.
She said: “I am extraordinarily proud of what we have built at Stylist – a brand that doesn’t just inform and entertain but genuinely helps the women we serve in their everyday lives.
“Quality content and strong community have always been at the heart of Stylist and, as we look to the future, my focus is on ensuring we build a model where exceptional content leads the way – for both our partners as well as the incredibly loyal audience we serve.”
Smosarski is taking over responsibility previously held by Ella Dolphin who became DC Thomson’s first deputy chief executive last April. Dolphin was previously chief brand officer of the publisher for three years.
Dolphin said: “Lisa is a phenomenal leader who has consistently turned purpose into action. The vision for Stylist came from Lisa at very beginning, and I have every confidence she will build the business of the future.”
DC Thomson said that overall it is sharpening its “focus on future-facing growth”. Its latest financial results showed revenue flat overall but growth in subscriptions, advertising and cloud services.
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