Every year, Condé Nast chairman Si Newhouse repairs to Vienna for the month of December, only to drop a bombshell in the new year. In 2003, it was the retirement of CEO Steve Florio; in 2004, the departure of editorial director James Truman; and, last year, the exit of Mary Berner, CEO of the Fairchild division.

It's still weeks away, but top-level Condé Nast insiders believe they know who will be the target of this year's January surprise: Mitchell Fox, one of the company's two group presidents, and the executive in charge of W, WWD, Bon Appétit, and the Golf Digest and bridal groups. Amid a rising tide of discontent over Fox's management style, and rumors about his sour relationship with corporate sales honcho Richard Beckman, most handicappers expect to see Fox's portfolio downgraded—perhaps drastically—before the annual off-site publishers meeting on January 29.

"Everyone under him is miserable, and it's gone all the way to the top," claims one veteran of 4 Times Square. "The discussions right now are over whether or not he's going to end up the way Mary Berner went last year."

"In this company," says a high-ranking sales source, "where there's smoke, there's fire."

"It's the inconsistency that makes him so difficult to work for. He's the king of the mindfuck"Numerous sources cite Fox's overbearing attention to minutiae as a recurring source of tension. "He's this incredible micromanager, and incredibly paranoid," says a publisher whose title is not part of Fox's domain. Others agree, noting that Fox expects his people to preview their sales presentations for him, to provide him with their itineraries, and to keep track of their sales calls on color-coded charts. A source who worked on Fox's staff several years ago recalled being admonished by Fox for sampling the appetizers at a client function: "He said, 'The food's not for you, the food's for guests!'"

"He'll weigh in on the weirdest things," says a longtime sales offical. When facilities director Bob Bennis sent out a company-wide e-mail announcing that some bathrooms would be closed for maintenance, Fox replied to all recipients "something to the effect that 'This is absolutely essential for our company,'" recalls a fellow exec. "Everybody thought it was a joke, but it wasn't."

Compounding frustrations, Fox is also known for clocking long stretches of time out of the office, much of it playing rounds of golf with clients. "He almost randomly vacillates between hyper-micromanagement and complete detachment," says the exec. "It's the inconsistency that makes him so difficult to work for. He's the king of the mindfuck."

Still, even his harshest critics concede that Fox has a talent for impressing those above him. "There's one thing Mitch consistently does, and that's manage up," says the exec. "That's his primary motivation." As a result, says another publisher who doesn't report to Fox, "He's quite well-liked by the Newhouses, all the Newhouses."

But Fox has a less enviable relationship with Beckman, stemming from the days when Fox, then head of the Golf Digest Companies, felt that corporate sales paid his titles insufficient attention. "He and Richard hate each other," says the longtime sales offical. "It's a well-known feud."

Failing to win over Beckman, whose generosity with corporate ad dollars can mean the difference between profit and loss for a magazine, was widely seen within the company as one of the strategic mistakes that led to Berner's premature departure last year. But while Berner didn't get along with Beckman, "she was at least somewhat politic about it. Mitch basically declared open war on Richard," says the official.

Contacted by Radar, Fox denied having poor relations with Beckman or any other top brass. "To me, that sounds like corporate suicide, which is something I'm not inclined to commit," he says. "It's an absurd accusation."

Fox also dismissed claims that he is an excessive micromanager, though acknowledged the accuracy of some of the examples cited above. "Someone in my position, with all the people who report to me, I expect them to provide certain information and have thoughtful conversations about the business. But when they leave my office, I don't follow them or try to manage them from afar."

Opinions are mixed as to what the current spate of complaints will mean for Fox's future. Citing his close ties to the Newhouses, several insiders say they doubt Fox will be pushed out altogether. One scenario being talked about involves the golf group's reassignment to David Carey, the company's other group president. Carey, who is currently working on the launch of the business title Portfolio, is widely expected to get additional responsibilities next year, possibly including oversight of Wired (though several sources insist this would not happen during the first quarter). Should Fox lose the golf group, "I think the writing's on the wall, unless, in the same breath, they say 'but these are all the other titles we're giving him,'" says the longtime official.

Almost all of the Condé officials contacted for this story, all of whom hold senior management positions and are longtime veterans of the company, agree the current situation is untenable. "This has bubbled around for so long that something will change," confidently predicts the exec. "And I can't imagine it's Mitch's personality."