Forbes Media is the latest publisher to wipe out the publisher title on its flagship magazine, joining Time Inc., which did it last summer, and Condé Nast, which followed suit last month.
Rich Karlgaard was named publisher of Forbes in 2002 after the tech spinoff title he was editing at the time, Forbes ASAP, was shut down. For a while, the plan worked brilliantly.
A company spokeswoman said he is still with the company with the titles of “editor at large” and “global futurist.”
His old publisher job has not been filled.
Other changes are also afoot. Mike Dugan, chief technology officer, is out. Chief Product Officer Lewis D’Vorkin — nicknamed Darth Vader by insiders — has been splitting his time between the Jersey City, NJ, headquarters and Hong Kong editorial offices. Insiders say that Tim Ferguson, the longtime editor of Forbes Asia, has been superceded by D’Vorkin— although a spokeswoman insisted Fergusion was still “with the company” and that his name is atop the latest issue of Forbes Asia as editor.
“Our management continues to execute the strategic plan it laid out several years ago to develop Forbes into a digitally driven business and accelerate its global growth,” the spokesperson said.
In one unsettling move on the homefront, Forbes’ owners are installing cameras inside the Jersey City offices — home of the magazine since December 2014.
“Everybody thinks it’s big brother watching,” said one insider. The Forbes family agreed to sell 95 percent of the company to Asian owners in July 2014, but didn’t collect the final $60 million until a bitter lawsuit was settled in late 2016.
A company spokeswoman said that the cameras are being installed for security purposes only.