The Community Exchange Podcast by OpenWeb Evolving a 108-Year-Old Brand with Nina Gould
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Sep 23, 2025 Nina Gould, Chief Innovation Officer at Forbes, boasts a rich history of evolving from designer to product leader. She dives into how legacy publishers are adapting to digital, highlighting the crucial role of product in merging editorial, business, and tech. Nina emphasizes the necessity of innovation that addresses real audience needs, particularly in the context of AI and personalization. She also critiques traditional advertising models and suggests a shift toward engagement-focused strategies, reshaping how content success is measured in today’s landscape.
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Early Days Editing HTML By Hand
- Nina joined Forbes in 1999 as a junior designer and front-end coder during the very early web days.
- She described editing HTML in flat files and FTPing homepage changes, which was terrifying but formative.
Digital And Print Started As Separate Newsrooms
- Forbes originally operated its digital and print arms separately with different newsrooms and voices.
- That separation allowed the web team to publish original daily content and adopt a more technology-focused editorial stance.
Rejoining Print And Digital Shifted Strategy
- Rejoining digital and print was a major pivot that reflected digital's growing revenue and influence.
- That shift showed legacy brands can fundamentally rethink operations to survive technological change.