Vogue editor Anna Wintour becomes Conde Nast artistic director

Conde Nast is expanding the role of Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. She has been named the company's artistic director.

The appointment was announced Wednesday by chief executive Charles H. Townsend. Wintour's new duties include developing an overall "creative vision" for Conde Nast, which has a portfolio of 18 consumer magazines, including The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Allure and GQ.

Wintour, 63, will continue to run Vogue on a day-to-day basis, which she has done since 1988. She will also continue to serve as editorial director of Teen Vogue.

Townsend said the promotion comes at a time to "leverage Anna's extraordinary vision and leadership."

Wintour created the post-recession Fashion's Night Out. She sits on President Barack Obama's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and as an elective trustee of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.