We are excited to introduce Ben Holschuh - senior product manager at ArrowStream. Ben has over twenty years of experience working in the foodservice supply chain industry and joined the ArrowStream team last year. 

“Ben is a brilliant mind and he approaches problems with a carefully planned, thoughtful, yet aggressive strategy. He understands how to lead teams to deliver on big ideas, and articulate future value to customers in a non-technical way. He’s a great listener, a fantastic person, and fun to work with.” 

- Enterprise Sales Director at ArrowStream 

What has your experience been with our company culture?  

Joining a new company as a remote worker is tough because you miss all those day-to-day interactions in the office, lunches with co-workers, or happy hours, where the culture of a company is especially tangible and unmistakable. It can be hard via Teams or Zoom to understand that culture. With ArrowStream, the thing about the culture here that was immediately apparent to me was the commitment to their customers. And it’s not just one way – the customers are committed to the folks here as well and to the ArrowStream solutions. It feels like a package deal.   

The other part of the culture that goes along with that commitment is deep expertise. So many of the employees here have been with ArrowStream for over ten years and have worked in the restaurant supply chain industry for even longer. Listening to their conversations with each other and with the customers, you can sense a genuine passion for what we do. It’s both intimidating and inspiring, yet the way that everyone is so quick to explain the what and why of these very complex processes have made me feel welcomed and part of the team.   

Who are some of your biggest inspirations within the company?  

The Chief Product Officer, Bill Michalski, is inspiring to work with because of how he is able to reduce complexity and chaos into easily understandable concepts and ideas. I really appreciate the way he approaches the work – he brings a level of intelligence and focuses that makes everyone on the product team better. Also, his PowerPoint game is top-notch!  

The Executive VP of Client Operations, Alan Smith, is inspiring to me from a leadership perspective. I don’t work in his group but I feel the strength of his leadership from afar. He trusts his people, supports them, celebrates them, and has their best interest in mind. I know this from the things he says as well as when I talk to the leaders on his team, see their outstanding work, and hear their passion for working at ArrowStream. 

What’s the most unique part about working here?  

The most unique part of ArrowStream is the combined years of expertise amongst the leadership team. To get on conference calls where some of these guys are talking to customers and have relationships that go back decades, you understand just how solid of a foundation this company has. It’s exciting to be part of the new blood on the team, partnering with the OGs to take the products to the next level.   

Which benefits are your favorite and why?  

We have a company policy to have no-meeting Wednesdays. It’s not 100% foolproof, but even a 6-hour chunk of unbroken time to do thought-work and really dig into a problem is incredibly effective.   

There’s an unlimited PTO policy at ArrowStream as well, and while I sometimes see that as more of a convenient HR policy these days, I have to say it’s really the only way to go. Nobody should stress about taking off due to illness, or for other life events. There’s mental freedom in it that which I appreciate and I’m grateful it’s an offered benefit.  

What is your team like?  

I really love working on this product team. The other product managers and product owners are some of the smartest people I’ve met, and they all bring different perspectives and backgrounds to their approaches. I would say that being able to have fun (even in stressful times) and having a good sense of humor is an important trait for my teammates to have, and these guys have an abundance of it. A long Zoom meeting can be brutal for your soul, but if you add laughter and good jokes to it, you’re doing alright.

"Let’s work together, check here for available opportunities to join the ArrowStream team!"