Carmen Villafañe

I turned up at my interview with Carmen Villafañe at Complex HQ in New York armed with questions upon questions. Admittedly, the majority were entirely selfish. You see, you know how we all have those women whose career paths we’ve long admired from afar? Well, she’s pretty much one of those women for me.

Now director of communications at the publication, her CV is impressive to say the least. I wanted to quiz her on what it felt like, moving from assistant to assistant editor in the space of a year. But also what it feels like now to hold such a prominent role at a magazine respected world over for being at the heart of the cultural diaspora, all by her mid-twenties.

Having worked at New York Magazine as their social media manager before working across platforms in her current position at Complex, I wanted to hear her thoughts on the future of digital, and, perhaps more importantly, the future of print and what the recent acquisition of Complex by Verizon and Hearst really means for the magazine. Then there were more personal things I wanted to know, like how she found the experience of leaving everything she knew in Miami to carve a career (and name) for herself in New York; not to mention what it was like starting her professional journey at the height of the recession. See what I mean? A lot to talk about.

To cut a long story short, the conversation that ensured touched on that and so much more. There honestly wouldn’t be enough space in this interview to touch on it all. What I do remember after leaving her though, is walking away pumped and determined to hustle that little bit harder. And not in that competitive way that makes you question my own trajectory at all. Her story, and willingness to get real and candid, left me more inspired than I was before. It’s why I’ve been determined to lock her down and have her share her story with me because, after you read this, I know she’ll make you feel the same.


Carmen Villafañe

ON EDUCATION: It’s not so much that I chose my current role; it’s more like it found me! My education was a huge part of it. I studied Journalism, Spanish and Latin American Studies. The foundational writing skills I learned in J-School–inverted pyramid, feature writing, on the ground interviewing and reporting–those are things that do have a certain science to them. And they’re skills that transcend your actual job. From when I was writing every day to now creating bigger narratives on the PR side, you can’t put a high enough premium on just being a strong writer. It’s not that common a trait anymore, unfortunately. The Spanish/Latin American studies are a part of me, so it was really just an extension of my upbringing (easy credits, also. Shout out to my parents!).

EARLY AMBITIONS: I wanted to be a doctor up until junior year of high school! Then the perfect mix of a creative writing class, a teacher who had worked at Ogilvy, and failing chemistry led me to proclaiming I wanted to work in magazines and move to New York ASAP.  It took me a few years, and convincing my dad that that was – to quote him – “a real job” but I made it! Growing up, my sister and I devoured my grandmother’s Hola! and Vanidades magazines. We knew everything about the European royals and all the Spanish telenovela starlets, which, looking back probably influenced my aesthetic a ton–especially on the beauty routine front.  And then my parents are big readers too, so we always had Time, Newsweek, the New York Times, National Geographic and WSJ lying around. My mom would buy the collectors’ issues for big pop culture moments – Time 100, the Olympics, Fashion Week, etc. – so I love those “tentpole” events and look still look forward to them.

GRADUATING AT THE HEART OF THE RECESSION: I can honestly say I got super lucky. I knew I was competing against a lot of folks that went to really prestigious journalism schools and interned at Hearst and Condé every semester, but because I didn’t have that chance being in school in Florida, I made it my business to be as competitive a candidate as possible. I also knew I needed a job to get me to New York and then would figure out something that was more aligned with my interests once I got my foot in the door. So I got hired just two months after graduating and didn’t think twice about accepting. I guess that’s what it was like – there was a humility and a scrappiness that I think is so crucial always, but especially when you’re 21 and no one knows you from Adam. I don’t get that entitlement issue the “kids these days” have. No shots.

ON STYLE SIGHT AND HER FIRST ROLE AT COMPLEX: I was basically a glorified translator at Style Sight but the job got me to New York! I knew I wanted to be at a magazine and everyone at Complex seemed so cool and avant guard. Now I know they are just big teddy bears who love rap. But at the time, I was very much Peggy Olsen, wide-eyed and had these guys on a pedestal. Granted, I still think I work with some of the smartest people in the game, but at the time I was slightly terrified of them all.  And Complex is complex. We’re all about discovery and the ‘new’ new, but always with that knowledge base of the classics before us. I love that everyone had this wealth of knowledge about things like rap and sneakers, which so many people take at face value.

ON BEING HUMBLE & LEARNING THE ROPES: Starting from the bottom is EVERYTHING. Not only because you develop a work ethic and thick skin, but because if you’re lucky like I was, you learn by example. I think the reason I have such a sense for the way the business is run is because I came up through the managing editor’s office. So I live by lists and calendars and deadlines. I found that while I love to write and be creative, having an operational streak allows you to channel creativity and have a greater impact if you know how to use it.

ON MOVING FROM ASSISTANT TO ASSISTANT EDITOR IN LESS THAN A YEAR: I guess I never realized how big that move was; it all happened pretty fast. I can’t believe I celebrate seven years in New York this summer. I’m also fortunate to be friends with very young, very successful people so my trajectory pales in comparison! I think I owe it to knowing that at the end of the day, everything is about people. In Spanish there’s a phrase “lo cortes no quita lo valiente” – which roughly means that being kind doesn’t make you weak. It’s at the core of my belief system and I think that reading people and knowing what they need in that moment and being able to deliver that – without losing oneself – makes you the best kind of worker and leader. People will notice your work, but they’ll remember how you worked with them even more.


I knew I was competing against a lot of folks that went to really prestigious journalism schools and interned at Hearst and Condé every semester, but because I didn’t have that chance being in school in Florida, I made it my business to be as competitive a candidate as possible…I guess that’s what it was like – there was a humility and a scrappiness that I think is so crucial always, but especially when you’re 21 and no one knows you from Adam.


HER TIME AS SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER AT NEW YORK MAGAZINE: Social media fell into my lap because when I was coming up at the same time as Twitter and Facebook. I was a blogger for ideeli.com in the early days of fashion bloggers and influencers, and they needed someone to cover fashion week who had never been before. Hello, yes please! And long story short, I became the voice of our Twitter feed! My boss then took me with her when she left to run social at New York Magazine. She needed someone to re-launch The Cut’s social pages and launch Grub Street from the ground up. It was transformational in that it was the first time I managed both editorial and sales and marketing expectations, especially as they pertain to social media. That’s the story of my life these days! As far as the digital landscape, those days was a wild west of sorts. We got to determine what the success metrics were, both empirically and anecdotally. And that mix is still how I measure success today. Numbers are everything, with the right context and content to create that narrative.

ON SEIZING THE MOMENT: I don’t think my career moves have been strategic at all to be honest. If anything, they’ve been opportunistic to a fault. I love shiny new things so when things come across my radar I have to fight the urge hard not to just jump at them. When I have jumped, it’s always been with a healthy dose of “WTF am I doing?” I’m the poster child for calculated risks – shout out to every guy I’ve ever dated for putting up with it. That said, I’m loyal to a fault, which explains Complex being in the picture ever since that first assistant job way back when.


If I think back to our biggest stories – Joe La Puma’s incendiary Bieber cover story last year, where he revealed intimate details about his faith and Selena Gomez, Lauren Nostro’s Nicki Minaj cover story where she flips traditional feminism on its head, NCB shadowing Kanye during the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy days, the Wale and Seinfeld cover where we engaged Facebook to help us roll it out– those aren’t just text on a page. It’s moments that changed the discourse in pop culture.


ON REJOINING COMPLEX AS DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS: Oh man it’s a whole different place from when I first started. What attracted me back when I was offered the director of social media job in 2013 was the opportunity to manage a team. It was a massive challenge but one that has changed the way I see practically everything. Not to mention, they’re a forward thinking crowd – always have been. I knew that I wouldn’t have to deal with corporate red tape because they just love good ideas. Sure, you might have to do a little convincing to get your way but welcome to life, right?! The growth since then has been tremendous. As Ecko says, “you don’t get this big being niche.” Hip hop, sneakers, streetwear, comics, the meat of the culture – these things are mainstream now. Thank you social media, thank you Kim and Kanye, thank you to the kids who keep it alive – the mashup of stuff we love has never been so crucial to the cultural diaspora. We’ve gained the respect of our peers and earn that of the new wave because we’ve stayed true to the things we love while stretching ourselves to co-sign things and people that are unconventional for our audience.

WHAT HER ROLE INVOLVES: It’s constantly changing and evolving because Complex is constantly changing and evolving. My role is constantly changing and evolving because Complex is constantly changing and evolving. After a quick hiatus on the West Coast, I came back as director of communications, which is the first time we’ve really had an internal comms person. So I connect departments, manage our internal communications, oversee external messaging, manage special interdepartmental projects, and essentially make sure all roads lead to Rome. Discovery, convergence culture, and our by fans, for fans approach –– everything we do has to ladder up to those tenets. An average week is lots of meeting and calls, lots of introductory drinks and lunches and dinners with brands and people we want to be connected to, and even more follow up. I always – for better or worse – have an open door policy. I jokingly say I’m the Complex therapist, because I like fixing things that people perceive as problems or challenges. Teamwork makes the dream work, after all!


Screen Shot 2016-06-13 at 22.33.10THE POWER OF A STRONG COVERS: You know, it is actually easy to predict, which covers are going to resonate – double-sided, male and female – are big moments for us. But not in the traditional “look at this printed thing” kind of way. It’s the digital experience, the videos, the strength of the interviews, the way they are voraciously consumed on social––and not just every once in a while, but every single time. People have come to expect us to top it every time, starting from the inside out. The ingredients are simple. Tell the best story and tell it using unexpected mediums. None of our covers ever look the same. Everything supports that ethos.

ON THE FALACY OF ‘CREATING A BUZZ’: I think the idea of creating buzz isn’t a thing. It either does or it doesn’t. While it hasn’t made me any best friends, I often remind the team that if there isn’t a story, we shouldn’t tell it. And all of us who’ve watched this thing grow know that. If I think back to our biggest stories – Joe La Puma’s incendiary Bieber cover story last year, where he revealed intimate details about his faith and Selena Gomez, Lauren Nostro’s Nicki Minaj cover story where she flips traditional feminism on its head, NCB shadowing Kanye during the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy days, the Wale and Seinfeld cover where we engaged Facebook to help us roll it out– those aren’t just text on a page. It’s moments that changed the discourse in pop culture. We didn’t have to do much for those things to catch fire. So I applaud the team for constantly pushing each other to create that energy. By the time it gets to me, the job is mostly done!

ON HER APPROACH TO THE HIRING PROCESS: I’ve hired many people and I can honestly say that the people I’ve brought on and managed are truly my greatest career accomplishment. Shout out to the OG Complex social squad. What I look for is someone who has an innate curiosity and desire to learn, superior writing skills or a voice and personality that you can practically hear, and mostly, a good, honest heart. Because at the end of the day, we will be spending a hell of a lot of time together, and if you’re a shitty person, that is going to be no fun.

ON HOLDING A PROMINENT ROLE AT A YOUNG AGE: I think more and more the “olds” kind of have to make way for the young and voracious. That said, there is SO much to be said for experience. There’s a phrase in Spanish, “Mas sabe el Diablo por Viejo que por Diablo” which means the devil knows more because he’s old and not because he’s the devil. As I continue to grow in my career, I’ve come across people five years younger than me with this IDGAF attitude and I’m like, “I’m telling you, I’ve seen things, trust me!” So now that I’m in that place, I have a whole new respect for the generation before me. We don’t know it all, and the day you think you do, you better rethink your whole game. I also think that if you want to be taken seriously in a room full of veterans, carry yourself like you belong there. Respect and good old-fashioned manners will get you much farther than being the young hot shot everyone hates.

ON THE MENTORS THAT HAVE PLAYED A ROLE IN HER DEVELOPMENT: It’s funny, I have a ton of girl crushes and women I admire so much from afar, but a lot of my day-to-day mentors in the industry are men, probably because of where I work. The Complex crew – Noah Callahan-Bever and Rich Antoniello and Joe La Puma and Marc Ecko – they created something they truly believe in and when we became a part of Verizon Hearst Media Partners, it was so heart-warming to see what they built get validation for that. But as for ladies, my mother, who left law school when I was a baby to dedicate herself to our family. My grandmother, the youngest of eight siblings and the only one with college education, bitches at me for living far from her but left her home to get an education in pre-revolution Cuba. My sister, who beat every odd and did not give up for one second, and is starring on Broadway. Pretty much, every time I come across a woman who carries herself with humble, quiet pride no matter what the circumstances or the choices she’s made, those are the people I want to be like.  The women I respect don’t have to tell you they’re queens because you can just tell.


As I continue to grow in my career, I’ve come across people five years younger than me with this IDGAF attitude and I’m like, “I’m telling you, I’ve seen things, trust me!” So now that I’m in that place, I have a whole new respect for the generation before me. We don’t know it all, and the day you think you do, you better rethink your whole game.


ADVICE ON HANDLING MOMENTS OF SELF-DOUBT: Honestly, prayer and knowing that there is a plan way bigger than yourself.  There’s no mistake – or zillions of them or ones that you think you can’t take back – that aren’t part of your journey. When you realize you’re not the center of the universe, it’s easy to transcend those moments of “WTF DID I JUST DO?” God bless the broken road!

WORKING UNDER PRESSURE: I’m a somewhat anxious person by nature, so I do love that feeling of “Will we make it?!” I think what helps me keep it in perspective is that we’re not curing cancer. So on those particularly intense days, weeks, nights, I’ve been known to stop a tense meeting with “Did anyone die here today? No? Okay, carry on!”

ON THE PROJECT SHE’S MOST PROUD OF: Well now that the cat’s out of the bag, I’d say ComplexCon. I literally dream about it and have taken notes down in the middle of the night because it’s probably the biggest thing Complex has ever attempted! It’s going to be a huge weekend full of conversations and concerts and screenings and just a celebration of everything we are. I can’t think of a better way to usher in the new era of Complex as part of Verizon Hearst Media Partners and just as a massive voice for youth culture.

SWITCHING OFF: I have a new thing I do on weekends where I shut off my work email. Which is SO GOOD and I like to think my boyfriend likes me better because of it. Highly recommend. Also, putting your phone on airplane mode while running helps. And whenever I can, I escape to Miami and chill with my grandmother because she’s nuts and hilarious and begs me to move home which makes me feel special.