Joanna Coles is upping her tech cred.
The editor in chief of Cosmopolitan, who also serves as editorial director of Seventeen, joined the board of directors of Snapchat in early December. Snapchat confirmed the news but would not reveal more details about other members or the editor’s powers on its board.
Asked about the publishing company’s policy regarding editors serving on boards of media partners, and whether it poses a conflict of interest, Hearst president David Carey said: “Here at Hearst, potential board roles are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. I’m very pleased that Joanna is on the board of directors of such an important and ascendant technology company.”
Coles has played a central role in building Hearst’s relationship with Snapchat.
Cosmopolitan was one of the original properties on the social media site’s Discover platform when it launched a year ago. Over the summer the editor in chief hinted at the special project on a panel at Cannes Lions where she interviewed Snapchat cofounder and chief executive officer Evan Spiegel. That project turned out to be Hearst’s recently launched channel “Sweet,” which lives in Snapchat’s Discover panel and is run by Luke Crisell, a former editor in chief of Aritzia.
Coles has also been in talks to develop a magazine with Airbnb, and she is in the process of developing a TV show with NBC based on the “real life” of an editor and her colleagues at Cosmopolitan magazine. The show, which is penned by “Parenthood” executive producer Sarah Watson, is said to be in contention for the 2016-17 season.