News & Trainings

Hi Judith, SVB has taken on the role as the chief sponsor of the German National Team competing in the 2017 Red Bull Youth America’s Cup in Bermuda! How did this all come about?

Hi Susi! This is our first time sponsoring such a large project and we are absolutely thrilled about it! At the beginning of January, Paul Kohlhoff came by our office, presented us with his project and asked for our support. Everything had to be done very quickly, due to the fact that the registration deadline was approaching fast and the German Youth Team’s ability to participate would have been uncertain without securing our sponsorship. I was enthusiastic from the start and didn’t give it a second thought… I just needed to convince my father, Thomas Stamann first. Naturally, he was also convinced by Paul’s proposal, and gave me the green light under the condition that I personally took care of the project myself!

What were SVB's motives behind sponsoring the team and how does the team fit in with your company?

The most important reason for our sponsorship was to give the team the chance to compete at the Cup. We figured that if the official German Team wasn’t going to be taking part in this year’s official America’s Cup, then we definitely wanted to see the youth team succeed at the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup! The Youth Cup is a direct stepping stone to participating in the official America’s Cup and it would be exhilarating if one or more of the guys from the Youth Team got the chance to participate in the next America’s Cup! We also want to try to make sailing into a more mainstream sport in Germany! It would be great if sailing could one day gather the same level of enthusiasm and support that professional football or Formula 1 has!

How do SVB and the team fit together? Are there similarities between the two and how does SVB identify with the team?

The Red Bull Youth America’s Cup sailors are the youngest competitors within this calibre of international and professional sailing and glide through the water with their high-tech catamarans with great skill and incredible speed. It’s exactly this speed, performance and young professionalism, which highlights the exact parallels the team shares with SVB. SVB is well-known for its technical know-how, domestic and international delivery speed and consistent rollout of new and innovative water sports products. We have always aspired to lead the market, despite our company’s size. We aim to maintain a certain ‘start-up flair’ within our company, by striving to constantly reinvent ourselves! We are very much in favour of supporting our company’s younger generation by conveying to them that they can achieve anything with will and perseverance! In the end, what could be better than supporting the German team at this year’s Youth America’s Cup?

What is your role at SVB and more importantly, in sponsoring the German youth team?

I have been with SVB for 4 years, working alongside my father, CEO Thomas Stamann. Before that I spent a couple of years abroad, studied, and then worked for Montblanc in Hamburg and Paris. In doing so, I learned a lot about the internationalization of a traditional company and could go on to contribute this knowledge to SVB. Together, with our young, multinational team, we have built up our market shares in France, Italy, Spain and Scandinavia. I’m also in charge of SVB’s marketing, by leading projects, such as: our regular customer newsletters, SVB Chili Offers, advertising campaigns in water sports magazines, keeping the SVB website up-to-date and, of course, our sponsorship of the German Youth Team. In regards to sponsoring the team, I maintain communication with the team and the press and help with the planning of various campaigns, which we will release during the course of the season.

And what can SVB customers expect in the coming weeks?

Over the next few weeks, we will report on the team’s preparations and try to start getting our customers excited for the race in June! Since taking on our role of sponsoring the team, we have also been working intensively on foil technology and catamaran aerodynamics, which we will input into our upcoming newsletters for our customers. In doing this, we aim to derive improvements in our existing products and perhaps even expand on our product range as well!

Thanks for the interview, Judith!