BETHEL ALUMNUS LEADING IN FAST-CHANGING SMART HOME MARKET

Interviewed for a piece by Jason Schoonover in Bethel Alumni News about my role at Samsung SmartThings, the smart home industry, how the field is changing, and the experiences and people that formed me and helped me see how technology can help people live better and more connected lives.

Few could have predicted Benson’s career path. He wasn’t avid about computers growing up and entered Bethel as a physics major, but an introductory computer course changed his perspective when the instructor highlighted how computers are tools to serve people in numerous ways. “My eyes were opened up to how you could actually change the world and make people’s lives better through computers, and I never understood that before,” he says.

“The Bethel experience really instilled in me this notion of asking in every step, ‘Why does this matter?’” he says. “'How is this going to impact consumers?’ ‘Why does this matter for the business, the world?’”

A simple goal drives Mark Benson ’01: “It’s helping people live better with their homes.” At Samsung SmartThings, he leads a team on the cutting edge of smart home tech, which grew as COVID-19 led many to reimagine what’s possible at home. https://t.co/AJPPXxX0AS pic.twitter.com/nlrJvw58A2

— Bethel University (@BethelU) April 21, 2022