New Fast Company editor wants to hold companies accountable

Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke of Women’s Wear Dailyinterviewed new Fast Company editor Stephanie Mehta about her plans for the magazine.

Here is an excerpt:

WWD: Reese Witherspoon is on the summer cover. Is putting more celebrities on the cover part of a new direction for Fast Company?

Stephanie Mehta: Fast Company has always done crossover people. We want to have a balance. When there are leaders from the creative and celebrity and personality world that make sense, like Reese Witherspoon, we will do that. But also, we don’t want to turn our back on really interesting innovators in the world of business.

WWD: What other changes are you making to the magazine?

S.M.: Other things that will reflect my particular sensibility will be holding businesses a little more accountable. It probably sounds like I’m being convenient because the tech community is kind of going through a moment of reckoning, but I think Fast Company can celebrate businesses that are true innovators and truly changing the world and making a difference. But when those companies struggle and stumble and perhaps lose their sense of mission, I think we have a responsibility to write about that. I think you will see more stories that try to highlight the challenges that businesses face and not just celebrate the upside.

Read more here.