“Product engineer” aren’t usually the two words that come to mind when we hear the name Ashton Kutcher, but apparently nightmares do come true. The tech wunderkind has passed the interview process and is joining the computer company Lenovo in a role that he’s struggling to explain.
USA Today is reporting that Mr. Kutcher’s dual role of product engineer and celebrity spokesbot will involve him flying to China to meet with Lenovo engineers and executives to offer technical advice that the actor is most certainly qualified to give. To his credit, Mr. Kutcher studied biochemical engineering at University of Iowa so he does knows something.
He explained that the company “makes really, really, really good hardware” and it’s his mission to make their products “as consumer friendly as possible.” Hopefully that doesn’t mean Two and a Half Men desktop wallpaper comes installed.
Mr. Kutcher provided an non-answer on why this partnership materialized (we assume the real story involves lots of money). “If you look at my career, what’s constant is I like to take risks — so does Lenovo,” he said, adding “Lenovo is all about innovation and strong leadership.” So, this is not at all like his investment in Path?
Anyway, leave it to Lenovo’s CMO David Roman provide some context:
“Ashton will help us break new ground by challenging assumptions, bringing new perspective and contributing his technical expertise to Yoga Tablet and other devices,” said Mr. Roman.
Excited for that “Dude, where’s my Yoga?” campaign.