EL EQUIPO

El equipo detrás de la mejor aplicación de navegación

Find out more about the passionate team of sailors and computer scientists that are the brains behind Savvy Navvy.

Jelte Liebrand - CEO & Founder of Savvy Navvy
Jelte Liebrand
Director General y Fundador

Jelte participó en la Vuelta al Mundo en 2014 a bordo del Jamaica. Tenía mucha experiencia en navegación, pero la regata de San Francisco a Nueva York era muy diferente a todo lo que había hecho antes. Navegando a miles de millas de la costa, aprendió lo difícil que puede ser la navegación. Actualizar las cartas, descargar las previsiones meteorológicas, predecir la velocidad del barco, evitar las borrascas con más de 50 nudos de viento; todo ello le llevó horas y horas bajo cubierta, trazando los rumbos en un ordenador mientras aguantaba una escora de 45 grados. Jelte se convenció de que debía haber una manera más fácil.

He spent two years researching and building the foundation for Savvy Navvy and in July 2017 he left his job at Google to get his vision of easy, safe navigation out to every sailor on the water. The rest they say is history!

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Kevin O'Neill - Cofundador y Director Comercial
Kevin O'Neill
Cofundador y Director Comercial

Kevin y Jelte se remontan a 18 años atrás, cuando trabajaron juntos para Symbian, creando el sistema operativo móvil del (entonces) futuro.

Having travelled the world for work and pleasure and worked in many industries for large companies, Kevin realised that what he really likes is working in small teams where he can be really hands-on and make a meaningful contribution. So when Jelte explained his vision for Savvy Navvy and how the app would disrupt the sailing tech world, Kevin jumped onboard immediately.

Tiene una amplia experiencia empresarial en diferentes sectores, como el energético, el químico, el de hardware y el de software. Le gusta especialmente interactuar con clientes de muchos países, resolver nuevos problemas y negociar y gestionar contratos.

En su tiempo libre, Kevin es fotógrafo aficionado y piloto de drones. También es un marinero neófito de manual que está deseando probar el yate de la empresa. Todavía no le hemos dicho que no tenemos uno.

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Alex Ostler - Chief Marketing Officer
Alex Ostler
Chief Marketing Officer

Alex began her tech journey at Google as part of the engineering team behind Maps and Earth. Post-Google, Alex has steered growth for several tech startups, spanning from edtech to fintech.

With a shockingly terrible sense of direction and thirst for travel and adventure, digital mapping (on land or water) is the #1 piece of technology she truly couldn’t live with out. Based in Colorado, Savvy Navvy expands her water-sport activities beyond mountain lakes and rivers to the open sea.

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Mikhail Vysokovskiy (Misha) - Head of Product at Savvy Navvy
Mikhail Vysokovskiy (Misha)
Head of Product

At Savvy Navvy, Misha combines his two passions - navigation and boating. He’s a map fan, having worked in geoservices at Yandex for 10 years, where he led a popular car navigation app. In 2018, Misha also became a boater and later founded the first and only boat-sharing club in Russia. Misha moved to London in 2022 via a UK Global Talent track. With a dream to bring together his love and experience of mapping, sailing and user-centric design, he now leads product development at Savvy Navvy. And dances the rest of the time.

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Bart our Lead Engineer at Savvy Navvy
Bartosz Hejman
Ingeniero jefe

Bartosz Hejman, based in Warsaw, Poland, is the driving force behind Savvy Navvy's App Development Team. He transitioned from a successful basketball career to become a code genius, showcasing adaptability and determination. Bartosz leads the team in creating a user-friendly and innovative navigation app, combining his sportsmanship spirit with technical expertise. In the heart of Warsaw, he's steering us towards a future of precise and innovative navigation.

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David Cusworth - Director de la Asociación Comunitaria
David Cusworth
Partnership and Innovation

Meet David, our super awesome Partnership and Innovation lead!

David has worked on and around the sea pretty much his whole life. Joining the Royal Navy at 16, racing around the world as part of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race then working shore-side on multiple round the world races. David is an RYA Yachtmaster, has sailed over 100,000 miles and is passionate about the water, sailing and seamanship.

David will work closely with the team to grow our network of savvy users and commercial partnerships around the globe to help us grow over the coming years.

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Toby Jakes - Head of Finance
Toby Jakes
Head of Finance

Toby Jakes is the financial anchor behind Savvy Navvy, responsible for steering us through the complex waters of budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning. Based between London and Lymington, Toby brings his financial expertise to ensure Savvy Navvy to ensure we reach our goal of making boating safe and fun for everyone. In addition to his financial acumen, Toby is an avid motorboater and music enthusiast, infusing his passion for both into his work and leisure time.

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Jesús Rodríguez Pérez - Flutter Engineer
Jesús Rodríguez Pérez
Flutter Engineer

Jesús, based in Spain, is our Flutter Engineer. He combines technical expertise with creativity to craft seamless and visually appealing mobile applications. With Jesús on our team, we're charting a course to deliver outstanding mobile experiences.

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Chris Whatley - Growth Hacker
Chris Whatley
Hacker del crecimiento

Chris empezó a navegar a los veinte años, pasando la mayoría de los fines de semana en regatas a lo largo de la Costa Este del Reino Unido, navegando desde Burnham-On-Crouch, haciendo tanto regatas costeras alrededor de las latas como regatas en alta mar por todo el Mar del Norte. Un traslado a la Costa Sur en 2010 le ha permitido trasladar su pasión por la navegación a su vida laboral como director de marketing centrado en lo digital.

As our Growth Hacker Chris is tasked with the continued growth of the Savvy Navvy community, overseeing our marketing activity with a focus on paid and organic activity.

Cuando no está navegando o compitiendo los jueves por la noche en Lymington, puede encontrar a Chris montando en bicicleta por el New Forest, tanto en carretera como fuera de ella, practicando paddleboarding, comiendo pasteles galeses e intentando evitar que sus hijos gobiernen la casa.

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Jacco Willemsen - Global Sales Manager
Jacco Willemsen
Global Sales Manager

Jacco is based in the Netherlands, is Savvy Navvy's new Global Sales Manager. With over a decade of experience at Navionics (Garmin) as the EMEA Sales Manager, Jacco brings extensive expertise in marine navigation sales. Jacco is no stranger to global waters -  he learnt to walk on a boat and has been into watersports ever since spending his whole life either surfing or sailing. At Savvy Navvy runs our global distributor network to expand Savvy Navvy beyond the online sales.

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Surya Anbarasi Vanniarthilagam - Routing Engineer
Surya Anbarasi Vanniarthilagam
Routing Engineer

With a strong background in routing technology, Surya plays a pivotal role in optimising and streamlining our navigation solutions. As a Routing Engineer, Surya excels in creating efficient and reliable routes for our users.

Surya completed her Bachelor's degree in India and then went on to work for Mercedes Benz R&D as a software engineer she developed her love for algorithms and programming. After completing her Master's degree in computer science in Germany Surya joined RideOS to work on their routing engine. Since then Surya joined Savvy Navvy.

“Although I have zero experience or knowledge of sailing, the task of routing through open seas is a fascinating challenge. I can't ask for a better set of people or a better company to work for.

As someone who enjoys travelling and experiencing different cultures, I can't believe I missed out on sailing so far.”

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Andy Sykes - Growth Marketing Lead
Andy Sykes
Growth Marketing Lead

Andy grew up in a seaside town in Dublin and, having spent his childhood sailing, kayaking and rowing, is passionate about all things related to the water. Prior to joining Savvy Navvy he worked in various marketing and business development roles for technology companies in both Germany and Ireland.

Conoció a Jelte a través de una red de antiguos alumnos de Google y, tras investigar la aplicación con más detalle, se convenció de que él y el equipo estaban ante algo especial. Tras varias semanas de insistencia, consiguió convencer a Jelte para que le diera trabajo y el resto, como se suele decir, es historia.

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Ivo Dimchev - Atención al cliente
Ivo Dimchev
Asistencia al cliente

Our man in Bristol, eagerly awaiting to deal with all the customer support queries and questions. Ivo’s background, experience and multiple languages provide the backbone of our support team helping customers with queries, questions and issues, providing valuable input to the Engineering Team to progress the app’s development.

Ivo discovered the beauty of boating after he joined Savvy Navvy's team. He, his wife and two kids spend their evenings near the coast, but you can always find him available to answer your question, help you with your technical inquiry or just for a chat.

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Elena Petru - Geospatial Data Engineer
Elena Petru
Geospatial Data Engineer

Elena Petru, our Geospatial Data Engineer, is originally from Romania but she now calls Exeter home, trading in the Black Sea for the English Riviera. Elena has a longstanding geomatics background spanning from consultancy with multinational Jacobs and leading UK prop-tech company Landmark.

Elena specialises in harnessing the power of geospatial data to drive innovation and enhance our navigation solutions. As a Geospatial Data Engineer, Elena brings a keen analytical mind to the team. She's adept at transforming complex geographic data into actionable insights, ensuring that our navigation tools are not only accurate but also user-friendly.

“Inherently curious, I've always been drawn to the uncharted. Shifting from land to marine geodata was an exciting transition; the ocean, after all, embodies the ultimate unknown, so I’ve found my niche as a Geospatial Data Engineer at Savvy Navvy maintaining our data pipelines and deriving valuable insights.

In my free time, I'm a globe-trotting adventurer, forever searching for the next thrill and that perfect, elusive beach spot."

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Isabel Johnston - PR Manager Savvy Navvy
Isabel Johnston
Director de Relaciones Públicas

Isabel solía remar por los canales de la capital danesa en Copenhague. Desde entonces ha cambiado las aguas danesas por el Solent del Reino Unido, y ha pasado su vida laboral generando relaciones públicas dentro de la industria marítima.

Isabel promoted the Clipper Round the World in media across the globe during the 2012-2013 race working closely with David. They’ve recently reconnected about various PR opportunities, and she has since joined the Savvy Navvy team, as our PR Manager getting our the Savvy Navvy app in front of journalists and media outlets around the world.

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Hannah Cotterell - Directora de la Comunidad
Hannah Postma
Gestor de la Comunidad

Nacida en las Bermudas y criada en el Caribe, Hannah ha pasado la mayor parte de su vida viviendo en barcos o cerca de ellos. Ávida marinera desde los dos años, Hannah combina su habilidad para contar historias con su amor por el mar.

"I love working with Savvy Navvy to help shake up the future of marine navigation. The ocean and boats have been a part of my life for longer than I can remember so working every day to make that environment a better place for everyone and to tell the stories of this incredible team and our member is an honour."

In her spare time Hannah loves travelling the world, sailing to new and exciting destinations, surfing and generally living outside with her husband and rescue dog Kiwi. Hannah also claims to be a part time pirate.

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Tim Jones - Asesor de diseño de productos
Tim Jones
Asesor de diseño de productos

Tim and Jelte worked together at Google My Business; the team that helps put businesses on Google Maps. Before that he was the principle designer for YouTube mobile apps. A cartographer by trade, there is nothing that Tim can't turn his design skills too and we hope you like his design touches in the Savvy Navvy app as much as we do.

Lleva navegando desde su adolescencia, cuando aprendió a navegar en un bote neumático en el estuario del Forth con fuerza 8. Ha sido tripulante habitual de un yate de 40 pies de hormigón en Pin Mill, Ipswich, y ahora tiene su propia canoa de vela.

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Matthew Holwill - Científico principal de investigación geoespacial
Matthew Holwill
Científico jefe de investigación geoespacial

Matt comenzó a navegar en botes en su adolescencia en el norte de Gales y llegó a ser instructor superior de botes de la RYA.

After earning a PhD in physics he wanted to combine his love of sailing and research. Matt is responsible for modelling tidal currents and extracting meaningful data from satellite imagery to enhance the Savvy Navvy experience.

Además, siempre está buscando una buena oportunidad para salir al agua, así que si necesita una tripulación para su yate en Texas, no dude en ponerse en contacto con él.

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