New editor Leaf on what’s ahead for Fortune magazine

Caysey Welton of MIN interviewed new Fortune editor in chief Clifton Leaf about the business magazine’s future.

Here is an excerpt:

min: Do you have any new initiatives you plan to launch as editor or can we expect any big changes to the brand?

Leaf: We do have a few ambitious editorial projects in the works—and, yes, there will be some changes and refinements, too. We have some fun surprises brewing for our Fortune 500 issue and coverage online. We’re going to move our annual “Change the World” list into our fall double issue, for example, and expand that digitally in a big, big way along with a companion event. And we’re also working with a partner on, what I hope will be, an important new franchise slated for November, but I can’t yet reveal what it is. I will say, however, that this last project drives to the heart of what Fortune readers look for in companies. For now, I think it’s fair to say that our trajectory is more evolutionary than revolutionary. My aim is simply to make Fortune better, faster, timelier and a more urgent read in all of its platforms. With some luck—and with the amazingly talented staff we have now—I think we will do just that.

min: What excites you about the challenges of your new role?

Leaf: Well, I’m sure most of min’s faithful readers know the challenges all too well. In Fortune’s case, the central challenge and opportunity are the same: convincing new readers that the brand’s nearly nine-decade history gives it a rare perspective—and some essential insight—on the future of business. Our pedigree has never been a staid or cranky traditionalism. Well, we did have a pretty dismal decade in the 70s.

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