Name: Andreas Hansen
Age: 37
Job Title: Global President
Company: Plum
Years in the Industry: 18
Education: Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees
Dealerscope’s 40 Under 40 Honoree 2021
Describe your current role.
Global President of Plum, the company that introduced the first-ever wine appliance that automatically preserves, chills, and serves wine by the glass.
What accomplishment(s) are you most proud of?
At Plum, I was able to build a brand and distribution from the ground up, adding hundreds of retail partners — something that I was not exposed to in my previous roles as President of Liebherr and other executive positions at well-established CE industry brands that had presence before my arrival.
Being acknowledged and winning awards such as Best of KBIS, the Connected Design Award, and HomeWorld Business 10 People to Watch, alongside respected industry leaders, are deeply humbling professional life events, but what I am most proud of is the great relationships I was able to build along the way, and being recognized by CE industry peers, honoring me with a 2021 Dealerscope 40 Under 40 Award.
What do you like best about your job?
At a startup, nothing is established, processes are not yet created, and there is no right path to success. Every morning, I wake up and think about how I can change the world, make it a better and more successful company and everyday needs to have an impact. The most satisfying feeling is to make things happen and ultimately improve people’s lives.
What technology are you most excited about at the moment?
Machine Learning is probably the most exciting development in the CE Industry.
Most mechanical features or those that are based on thermoelectric are already invented and not easily disrupted, and if so, only by world-changing disruptors that would affect an industry or even how we perceive a solution. A good example is microwave or induction [technology]; this kind of innovation only happens every 30 years, but customer-centric micro solutions for different use cases are developed every day trough AI and software.
Machine Learning is at the core of Plum, as our mechanisms would not work without. It would be a brainless appliance that would not know how much pressure to exercise on the cork or how fast the needle would have to spin depending on an artificial cork or metal screw cap.
UV application and ultrasonic devices are still under-served, and the Small-Appliance Industry is waiting for a disruption cycle that will be led by small but ultra-specialized innovative brand.
What career advice would you give to people just getting started in the CE or technology industry?
Make friends, and go to networking events. The CE industry is driven by innovation that sometimes reduces human interaction through automation and AI Machine Learning. However, those companies are still driven by people and the human factor, and creating meaningful connection will be something that will become more and more important in this evolving industry and world.
What, in your opinion, is necessary for the CE/technology industry to thrive in the next five years?
External disruptors. I believe that innovation will come from outside the industry and will be related to services.
Amazon might decide to build some factories and embed food delivery into the machine, the AI and the cost.
Imagine you don’t pay for your appliances, refrigerators come with proven AI object recognition [born] of the brightest Amazon and Silicon Valley minds, subscription is built into the cost, and you will get your items delivered on a daily basis, while Alexa dictates the recipes, your oven heats up, your smart scale and food processing machines tell you what to do next… all seamless… the human becomes the robot, executing on what the closed system provides.
