A dramatic shake-up at the top of Condé Nast is reviving speculation that Anna Wintour, the company’s biggest star, could be headed for the exit.
The New York-based publishing giant revealed Tuesday that Bob Sauerberg, its chief executive for the past eight years is stepping down, as it merges its US and overseas operations. With a search now underway to replace him with a global chief, Wintour’s position at the company looks more uncertain than ever, insiders said.
“The reality is that the company is at a crossroads,” a well-placed source told The Post. “Whether or not she plays a part in that is being decided now.”
Asked on Tuesday about 69-year-old Wintour, who serves as artistic director and editor-in-chief of Vogue, Steven Newhouse, the co-chairman and president of Advance digital operations, told The Post that it’s in the hands of the new CEO.
“As to any changes, we’re going to wait until a CEO is hired,” Newhouse said.
The company, which is internally referring to itself as the “new Condé Nast,” is melding its US operation that publishes Vanity Fair, the New Yorker and GQ with the London-based office, which supervises monthlies like British GQ and Paris Vogue.
Nevertheless, Wintour’s current position as artistic director of Condé Nast wasn’t extended to reach over international operations, Newhouse confirmed.
He did reaffirm the publishing empire’s commitment to Wintour, who is still widely considered as the most powerful and instantly recognizable editor in the business.
“I spoke with Anna and she feels very strongly this is the right move,” Newhouse said, referring to the company’s new direction. “Condé Nast wants her to remain and so far as I know she wants to remain.”
Through a rep, Wintour confirmed the conversation with Newhouse, affirming that she wants to stay at Conde Nast, and declining to comment further.
Rumors of Wintour’s exit have been circulating since the summer. At the time, Sauerberg sought to swiftly silence them, saying Wintour had “agreed to work with me indefinitely in her role as editor in chief, Vogue and artistic director of Condé Nast.”
But with Sauerberg gone, insiders note that Wintour now faces a possible power struggle with Condé Nast International CEO Jonathan Newhouse, who on Tuesday got elevated to global chairman.
”This should be the nudge [for Wintour to leave],” said a source, who characterized her relationship with Jonathan Newhouse as “not so great.”
The insider cited as an example past tussles over Condé’s fashion site Style.com, which Wintour scrapped because she thought it was stealing Vogue’s thunder. Her idea to replace it with a site called Vogue Runway flopped.
Jonathan Newhouse then revived Style.com as an e-commerce platform, only to see that effort fizzle a few months later after spending $100 million. It was a black eye for Newhouse, who has since made a play to shift the balance of power for Vogue.com to his international division.
Wintour’s track record as artistic director has looked spotty, too. Most recently, she moved to scrap Glamour’s print edition — a longtime cash cow for Condé Nast — after she handpicked Samantha Barry — a social media guru from CNN — to be its new editor-in-chief.
Since Barry’s arrival, Glamour.com has lost 21 percent of its traffic, according to comScore.