Who

Wallace is editorial director of Condé Nast, which means he oversees the content of close to two dozen magazines, from Lucky to Glamour to GQ.

Backstory

Harvard grad Wallace spent his early years working as an editor at newspapers like the New York Times, Newsday, and the Stamford Advocate. In 1990 he moved into the magazine business, joining Condé Nast as editor-in-chief of Condé Nast Traveler. He spent nearly a decade and a half at the magazine, helping expand its reach and keep it on solid footing as new competition entered the marketplace. In 2005, he was bumped up to editorial director of Condé Nast, a somewhat surprising promotion that followed the departure of James Truman—the youthful impresario who guided Condé's growth in the 1990s, expanded the stable of magazines (successes like Lucky, duds like Cargo), and even took it upon himself to oversee the interior design of Condé's new Times Square building. Wallace's ascent took nearly everyone by surprise, himself included. While his work at Traveler was respected, the mag has never been considered one of the company's premier publications, and many thought Wallace lacked the style and fashion expertise seen as a prerequisite for the job.

Of note

While Wallace runs the show at the lesser Condé titles, he isn't exactly barking orders at Vogue's Anna Wintour. Although he has official oversight over the editorial operations at all the magazines, he has substantially less influence with the four editors who report directly to Si Newhouse: Patrick McCarthy, the former chairman of Fairchild who oversees W and WWD; Vanity Fair's Graydon Carter, the New Yorker's David Remnick, and fashion czaress Wintour.

But Wallace has plenty to occupy his time. There have been magazines to shutter like Jane and House & Garden, which both closed in 2007, decisions that were ultimately made by Chuck Townsend, Condé's CEO, as well as Si and Steve Newhouse. And then there's Portfolio, the struggling new business magazine that the company has committed $125 million to propping up. The Joanne Lipman-edited mag debuted to a tepid reception in May of 2007 and has since been plagued by staff defections and reports of on-the-job conflict. Wallace has also been busy online. He's been seeking to beef up the company's web activities, not an easy task given the internal bureaucracies at the various magazines.

Personal

Wallace is married with three daughters. He commutes from Pelham, where he happens to live next door to one of his former charges, House & Garden's Dominique Browning.