The former head of content at Dazed Media will become the second ever editor-in-chief at GQ Middle East when he takes the helm on Mar. 7.

The title became the 21st edition of the global men’s media brand when it launched in October 2018. Adam Baidawi, GQ Middle East’s inaugural editor has since been promoted to the position of deputy global editorial director for GQ.

“GQ Middle East is an edition close to my heart, and Ahmad is the modern, multi-platform and worldly storyteller it deserves to have leading it. I’m also immensely proud to be hiring someone so deeply engaged with the region and its creative communities,” Baidawi said of Swaid’s appointment.

Swaid, who is British-born and of Lebanese and Sierra Leonean descent, was most recently charged with managing content across Dazed, Dazed Beauty, AnOther Magazine, Nowness and Dazed Studio. Before joining Dazed Media, Swaid worked at Garage Magazine for three years and he has also consulted on digital for System Magazine, Wales Bonner and Thomas Lenthal’s Paris-based creative agency Lenthal.

“As a kid who grew up between Beirut, Freetown and Aleppo collecting magazines, I can’t wait to go back to the region that defined my teenage years,” Swaid said.

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