Guardian director of digital strategy Wolfgang Blau is joining Conde Nast International as chief digital officer.

In his new role he will oversee digital offerings of brans including Vogue, Vanity Fair and Wired.

Blau applied for the role of Guardian editor-in-chief but missed out to Katharine Viner. He is the second internal candidate for the job to leave. Former Guardian deputy editor Janine Gibson is not editor of Buzzfeed UK.

Blau has been at The Guardian since April 2013 and was in charge of redesigning the website and moving it to a responsive design format (meaning the same site reformats itself for smartphones and desktop computers).

Blau said: "As a family owned journalistic enterprise, Condé Nast has enormous resources and talent and has a rare, long-term perspective. This presents a unique opportunity."

Condé Nast International publishes more than 125 magazines around the world in markets outside the United States.