• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, January 2, 2008

Steven T. Florio, who led Conde Nast Publications during some of its most successful years, died last Thursday of complications from a heart attack at 58.

From 1994-2004 Florio was president of Conde Nast, overseeing market leaders Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ and Allure. Under his leadership, the company earned huge revenues advertising high-end products. Revenues at parent company Advance Publications, based largely on the Conde Nast portfolio, grew from $930 million (in 1993) to $2.4 billion (in 2004). Florio excelled at coordinating ad sales so the same campaign could run across many different titles, maximizing incremental revenue.

In 2001, Florio oversaw the launch of Lucky, the successful shopping magazine that has thrived by dispensing with longer-form editorial content to focus on products themselves--making it the perfect ad platform. With a launch circulation of 500,000, the magazine's rate base quickly rose to 800,000 and then 1,100,000, where it currently stands. In the first three quarters of 2007, Lucky's rate-card revenues exceeded $128 million, according to the Publishers Information Bureau.

Born April 19, 1949 in Queens, New York, Florio was remembered by colleagues and employees--many of whom viewed him as a mentor--as a brilliant, charismatic man who was kind and sociable despite his undeniable New York edge. He earned a business degree from New York University in 1971, then worked at Esquire for nine years, where he rose through the ranks to vice president. After serving as publisher of GQ, he was named president of The New Yorker in 1985, then chief executive in 1988. He was named president of Conde Nast in 1994, and became overall CEO in 1996.

He is survived by his wife Mariann, daughter Kelly, son Steven John, mother Sophie Florio, and brothers Tom and Michael. His children and brother Tom hold positions at Conde Nast.