Whirlpool's Future Won't Fade
[8 May 2006 - Business Week] The appliance giant's CEO, Jeff Fettig, has a favorite word: innovation. His company has used it to set earnings records and build a cutting-edge brand. These days, Jeff Fettig is getting the glory. Since mid-2004, Fettig has been chairman and chief executive of Whirlpool (WHR ), which as the world's No. 1 maker of big-ticket appliances, has set records for sales and earnings. The housing boom in the U.S. certainly has helped. But the real numbers booster, says Fettig, is innovation. Thanks to new products, Whirlpool not only has logged outsized growth in demand; it has been able to command higher and higher prices. More