Henry Kuttner.
Kuttner was a prolific SF writer in the 40s and 50s. He was married to C.L. Moore, another leading writer of that time. They wrote both separately and together using a large number of pseudonyms. Unfortunately, Kuttner died in 1958, still a relatively young man.
"What You Need" originally appeared in the Oct 1945 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. It was credited to Lewis Padgett, a pseudonym used frequently by Kuttner and Moore.
