500强公司中推动行业变革的“小人物”们

    本•阿提斯，28岁

    互联家庭高级战略采购经理

    公司：惠而浦

    世界500强排名：第148位

    “在看到一种新想法的潜力之前，永远不要说它不可能。”

    本•阿提斯曾是芝加哥的一名即兴喜剧演员，每周演出一次。他总能把风马牛不相及的想法联系起来。如今，刚刚升级做爸爸的阿提斯，正在帮助其雇主——百年老店惠而浦，与谷歌的Nest等新伙伴展开合作，以便在日益增长的物联网领域谋得一席之地。他的成果如何？惠而浦推出了一系列洗衣机，可以探测到你何时要从家里出门，并切换设置，让烘干的衣服保持味道清新。

    Ben Artis, 28

    Senior Category Manager, Connected Home

    Whirlpool

    No. 148 (Global 500)

    “Never say no to a new idea until you’ve had a chance to see its potential.”

    Ben Artis used to link disparate ideas as a weekly improv-comedy performer in Chicago. Now the new father helps his century-old employer strike deals with strange bedfellows—such as Google’s Nest—to help Whirlpool secure a role in the growing Internet of things. The result? A line of laundry machines that can detect when you leave home and switch to a setting that keeps dried clothes fresh. It’s improv’s “Yes, and……” approach applied to tech. —Katie Fehrenbacher