Stokes, who previously served as fashion director at Highsnobiety, will “develop and lead the creative strategy and approach across all the brands” in his new role at Essence Ventures, which, alongside Essence magazine and Essence Festival, owns the Afropunk and Beautycon consumer festivals. He will report to CEO Caroline Wanga.

Essence was purchased by Richelieu Dennis, the founder of Unilever-owned beauty and skin care company Sundial Brands, from the now-non-existent Time Inc., which was purchased by Meredith, also in 2018.

Learn more:

Essence’s New Owner Sees More Than a Magazine

When beauty entrepreneur Richelieu Dennis acquired the magazine for black women from Time Inc. at the end of 2017, he had larger ambitions in mind. Can a media company become a platform for wealth generation in the black community?