Meet Nick Williams, the CEO of Native Instruments

Your vision for NI emphasizes innovation, accessibility, and collaboration. What does that mean in practice for our users?

For us, innovation means giving creators new tools that are both powerful and intuitive – helping you unlock ideas you didn’t even know you had. Accessibility means breaking down barriers: price, platform, skill level, or hardware preferences. And collaboration is about building bridges – not just between people, but between platforms, tools, and technologies.

A recent example is our expansion of the NKS (Native Kontrol Standard) ecosystem. With partners like Akai Pro, Novation, Nektar, Korg and M-Audio now integrating NKS into their controllers, we’re opening up our professional grade sounds and instruments to more creators than ever before. Whether you’re using our own hardware or third-party gear, we want the experience to feel seamless – because the tech should never get in the way of the music. We are also excited to be announcing a new hardware partner to NKS very soon.

Diversity and inclusion are priorities for you. How do you plan to expand opportunities for underrepresented creators in our community?

Music is one of the most powerful, universal forms of expression – and it should reflect the full spectrum of human experience. That means working intentionally to make sure people of all backgrounds, identities, and skill levels feel welcome and supported in our community.

We’re looking at this holistically: from how we build our teams and partner with artists, to how we design tools and distribute content. We’ve already made strides – and there’s much more to do. One example is our focus on gender diversity in music production. It’s not just about representation; it’s about rethinking how we design for inclusivity, how we tell stories, and how we help people see themselves in this space.

What’s a piece of feedback you’ve heard from the community that’s stuck with you?

One theme that’s come through consistently is: “We love what you make – just make it easier to access, use, and integrate.” That really resonates with me. We’re incredibly proud of the quality and creativity of our products, but we also know that installation issues, compatibility hurdles, or friction in your workflow can get in the way.

We’ve made progress – with improvements to Native Access, better onboarding in Kontakt, and expanded cross-platform compatibility – and we’re just getting started. Every update we ship is about helping you get to the music faster.