Forbes to focus on Australia’s ‘best’ business minds and entrepreneurs

FORBES AUSTRALIA officially launched on Friday. Its stated mission: to offer Australian leaders, entrepreneurs and success seekers a new experience-led membership built to unearth stories of change and success.

The Australian arm of Forbes has a pretty good head start, being able to tap into the suite of print and online subscriber services atop the US magazine’s 105-year heritage.

Forbes Australia has come about through a licensing agreement between Forbes Media and the optimistic local group, Success Publishing Pty Ltd, so it is able to draw on an armoury of well-regarded business journalism.

Today, the Forbes reader experience is – thanks to the magazine’s digital and broadcast development – what the publishing team calls a multi-faceted immersive experience that includes a premium bi-monthly magazine, website and curated online newsletters’.

Something different is the Forbes Australia focus on events, with members promised they will be able able to “see the story unfold beyond the pages at live and hybrid events”. The first Forbes Australia LIVE event is happening in Sydney on October 20.

Writing in the first issue of Forbes Australia, Forbes Media chairman and editor-in-chief , Steve Forbes said, “Australia embraces many of the same ideals as that of Forbes. It’s a place of doers, built by entrepreneurs who have created from scratch the country’s leading industries in sectors such as commodities, wine, agriculture and fishery. Now a new generation is adding high tech to that mix.

“This ‘can do’ country provides a model of stability, economic progress and democratic government in the Asia-Pacific and has a growing role in regional security. We are truly excited to watch Forbes Australia chronicle the country’s rising business, financial and economic profile.

Forbes Australia will build a local iteration of the global media brand, led by CEO Michael Lane, who has developed multiple successful businesses across live events, real estate and wealth management.

“Forbes is an inspiring and engaging media brand for more than 150 million people every month,” Mr Lane said.

“With Forbes Australia, we are combining Forbes’ global perspective with a uniquely local twist. By putting local business leaders and local entrepreneurs at the centre, we want to celebrate success, cultivate community and spark meaningful change.” 

Forbes Australia editor-in-chief is Sarah O’Carroll. Ms O’Carroll was most recently editor-in-chief of Yahoo Finance, which she re-launched in the Australian market in 2018 and grew its audience to a peak of more than two million monthly users.

“Australians have never been more ambitious,” Ms O’Carroll said. “They’re yearning for new approaches to our nation’s challenges and opportunities.

“They want stories of success and determination, and ideas built to equip our leaders for the best and brightest future.”

Ms O’Carroll said content would primarily be built on unique, locally written stories of entrepreneurs and success, mixed with the best news and features from Forbes’ global offerings. The brand has the stated goal of “tapping into the deep well of local insight and leadership, Forbes Australia will unearth and tell the stories that celebrate success, cultivate community and spark meaningful change”.

forbes.com.au