Mike Perlis
Mike Perlis is an American media executive and investor who was president and CEO of Ziff-Davis Publishing and a general partner of SoftBankSoftBank GroupSoftBank Group (SoftBank Group Corp.) is an investment holding company headquartered in Tokyo, founded by Masayoshi Son in 1981. Starting out as a distributor of personal computer software, it moved into the internet, broadband and mobile communications, and has since become an investment group centered on AI-related assets such as Arm, the SoftBank Vision Funds and OpenAI.Open the full entry Capital, and in 2010 joined Forbes MediaForbesForbes is an American business media brand that began with Forbes magazine, founded by B.C. Forbes in 1917. It is known for rankings such as the Forbes 400, the World’s Billionaires list and 30 Under 30, and operates Forbes.com, ForbesLive events and licensed editions in 81 countries. Since 2014 a majority stake has been held by the Hong Kong investment group Integrated Whale Media; a 2021 plan to list on the New York Stock Exchange through a special purpose acquisition company was terminated in 2022. It is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.Open the full entry as the first non-family member to run it as CEO. Lead independent director of Condé NastCondé NastCondé Nast is a global media company based in New York whose brands include Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, GQ and Wired. It grew out of the publishing business Condé Montrose Nast built after buying Vogue in 1909, was acquired by Samuel I. Newhouse in 1959 and belongs to Advance, the Newhouse family’s private company. After Roger Lynch stepped down as chief executive in September 2026, lead independent director Mike Perlis became interim CEO.Open the full entry after nearly eight years on its board, he became its interim CEO after Roger LynchRoger LynchRoger Lynch is an American media and technology executive. He led Chello Broadband and Video Networks International, served as founding CEO of Sling TV and as CEO of Pandora, and became Condé Nast's first global chief executive in 2019. In September 2026 he announced he would step down from Condé Nast; Mattel named him chairman effective October 2, 2026, and chief executive effective no later than November 2, 2026.Open the full entry stepped down in September 2026.
Contents6 sections
Key facts
Early Career: Magazine Publishing
Perlis began his media career as co-founder of the special-interest publisher New England Publications in Camden, MaineMaineMaine is a state in the northeastern United States, bordered by Canada and New Hampshire; its capital is Augusta and its largest city is Portland. It entered the Union on March 15, 1820, as the 23rd state, and had a population of 1,362,359 in the 2020 census (April 1, 2020).Open the full entry, and went on to serve as publisher of GQ, president of Playboy Publishing, president of TVSM, and chairman and CEO of IDG Peterborough.[1]
Around 2000: Ziff-Davis Publishing and SoftBank Capital
He was president and CEO of Ziff-Davis Publishing and then spent ten years as a general partner of SoftBank Capital.[1]
From 2010Forbes Media and Ethos Capital
In 2010 he joined Forbes Media and became the first non-family member to run its business as CEO. He is a partner at the private equity firm Ethos Capital, where he works on identifying and assessing investments.[1]
September 2026Interim CEO of Condé Nast
On September 30, 2026, Roger Lynch announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Condé Nast and that Perlis, the lead independent director, who had served on the board for almost eight years, would be interim CEO, working with the existing leadership team while the board searched for a successor. Condé Nast’s executive leadership list names him as interim CEO.[2][3]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Condé Nast: Official website: https://www.condenast.com/ (opens in a new window).[4]
Ethos Capital: the private equity firm where he is a partner; team page: https://ethoscapital.com/team/perlis-mike/ (opens in a new window).[1]
LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeperlis/ (opens in a new window).[5]