ISPO Brandnew 2017 Judges

"I'M HONORED TO BE PART OF THE PANEL AND TO SELECT THE MOST PROMISING START-UPS"

Since 8 years I'm heading to Munich in January/February. It is and will always be the main motivation to discover unique ideas at ISPO. As a member of the jury I will now experience this in concentrated form. The concept of ISPO BRANDNEW is a great opportunity for start-ups to present their ideas and developments on the big stage. They proved to have the needed and untamed entrepreneurial spirit and the motivation to manifest an inventive idea and I'm honored to be part of the panel and therefore help to select the most promising start-ups.

Profile

My first experiences in sales were gained in the plastics industry, primarily in the areas of stationary, medical and packaging. After I finished my studies in which my focus was put on marketing and the psychological aspects of customer satisfaction, I went straight to the traditional japanese company YKK as key Account Manager. Here I was able to specialize on the needs of the sports industry, which always is a source of never ending innovation. This specialization led me into various project groups (hi-tech&functional), which deal with this important sector for our company. For me it is very exciting to work on new ideas and solutions together with our customers.

When it comes to sport I'm into dance sport, ice hockey and trying out new Outdoor Apparel.

Address

YKK EUROPE Ltd.
Andreas Sczekalla
Head Of Category
Niederkassler Lohweg 181-183
40547 Duesseldorf
Deutschland

"It’s a great honor to be part of this year’s panel. Having been part of the ISPO BRANDNEW community--and fortunate enough to be the ISPO BRANDNEW Overall Winner and Product of the Year at the ISPO AWARD--left Oru Kayak with a sense of responsibility to give back. We want to be part of the next wave of change makers, and we believe that there is no better time or place than right now and right here. So, let's make the change we all hope to see in the world!"

Profile

Ardy is an entrepreneur and business strategist, energized by ideation, iteration and systems design. After earning an MBA in Design Strategy from California College of the Arts in 2012, Ardy helped launched Oru Kayak via Kickstarter with his two co-founders.

He is motivated by a desire to use human-centered design to make the outdoors more accessible for all. He believes that clever, forward-thinking solutions will soon create game-changing products and services in the outdoor industry.

Address

Oru Kayak
Ardy Sobhani
President + CEO
PO Box 7775 #90939
San Francisco, California US 94104
USA

http://www.orukayak.com

"ISPO BRANDNEW is not just any contest in which the lucky winners are in the spotlight shortly. The key premise of the Awards is not only to filter out the best young entrepreneurs in sports, but to make them enter into the international market as easy as possible."

Address

Messe München GmbH - ISPO
Markus Hefter
Exhibition Group Director
Messegelände
81823 Munich
Germany

www.ispo.com

"What has remained throughout the years is the passion. The passion of young companies and the passion of the jury, to give the best a great opportunity."

Profile

Reinhard has 30 years of experience in brand building, product innovation and graphic design trendsetting. He managed the creation of complete brand structures as point of origin for unique brand-, products- and communication concepts. His in-depth knowledge of merging 3-dimentional industrial design shapes with a 2D graphic design approaches helped him to create iconic products. Working for both clients and agencies at an executive level, Reinhard earned a strong knowledge in brand management and product design, paired with multidirectional international perspective.

As Creative Director of Pascher+Heinz, the Munich based agency, Reinhard developed concepts and strategies for upcoming and leading sports companies like ABS Airbag, adidas Eyewear, Atomic, bluesign, Burton, Coolmax, Dynafit, Flow, F2, Head, ISPO, KTM, Neil Pryde, Nike, North Sails, Odlo, Ortovox, POMOCA, Puma, Red Bull, Salewa, SkiData, SportScheck, Toray, Volant, Völkl, Volvo, XO and others.

A vital part of Reinhard´s working life has been the invention of sports products. He is a creative mind, holds several patents and was the co-inventor of the Flow Binding. Reinhard has been an active skateboarder and a professional windsurfing athlete, competing in Euro Funboard Cup and World Cup. Today he still has a strong connection and passion for boardsports.

Reinhard Pascher has ignited the Volvo Sports Design Forum and Award which was the world leading platform for design and innovation in the sporting goods industry for seven years. During this time he worked with many great personalities like Jake Burton, apple cofounder Steve Wozniak, Oakley´s CEO Colin Baden, creative designer like David Carson, Ross Lovegrove, Henrik Otto and Steve Mattin and the phantastic athletes like David Coulthard, Robby Naish, Felix Baumgartner and Bjorn Daehlie.

Since 25 years Reinhard is a jury member in various industrial design-, advertising- and trend awards. 28 times he has been the head judge of ISPO BRANDNEW.

Address

Pascher + Heinz GmbH
Reinhard Pascher
Creative Director
Joseph-WIld-Straße 20
81829 München
Germany
http://www.pascher-heinz.com

"As a regular visitor of ISPO, I follow ISPO BRANDNEW from the beginning. In 2005 I was a winner myself with my brand „Spank“. It wasn’t only a great experience, but a remarkable success in the early years of my business. To be appointed to the jury now, and to be able to select the best newcomers, is a great honor for me and I am really looking forward to be part of it."

Profile

Since 1998 Sven Mack is actively involved in the bike industry. In the early years he was responsible for the Marketing of a big bike importer.In 2003 he founded the bike components brand „Spank“, and was ISPO BRANDNEW winner in 2005. Since then they are very successful and „Spank“ is available worldwide. With the foundation of his own label, he also started the distribution company „Sports Nut“. They saw the opportunity in the emerging free ride und gravity trend and are proud to be one of the leading suppliers in this segment. As a result they were able to take the gravity bike segment out of ist niche status. Today Sports Nut GmbH imports more than 20 bike brands for the German and partly European markets.

Address

Sports Nut GmbH
Sven Mack
Managing Director
Bahnhofstr. 26
D-72138 Kirchentellinsfurt

http://sports-nut.de

“ISPO always provides a lot of input, inspiration, and new contacts – yet being awarded at ISPO BRANDNEW in 2013 was something entirely different. The ISPO BRANDNEW environment was super interesting, dynamic and innovative to say the least, and I am absolutely looking forward to becoming part – this time from a different perspective as a jury member – of this highly motivated community.“

Profile

Even when Vicki Marx used to be working as a product manager at SAP, she always rather wanted to “do something with sports”, – and her two children brought the turning point. The young mother realized that, not only did her offspring turn her (working) life upside down, but there was a huge market gap for outdoor babywearing fans: In order to spend time outdoors in all kinds of weather with her kid strapped to the body, she simply did not have the right clothes. Pregnant women and mothers with babies or toddlers barely existed in the outdoor market. And so mamalila and its multiple award winning 2-in-1-principle was born: Zip-in insertions convert any jacket, whether hard or soft shell, winter garment or quilted jacket, into a pregnancy or babywearing garment or even a classically cut outdoor jacket.
Having successfully established the mamalila brand and having initiated significant advancements to her products, Vicki Marx has gathered a lot of experience in the las ten years; as a CEO and a mother. Her babywearing jackets help women all over the globe to stay part of the outdoor community even during the unique time of becoming a mother.

Address

mamalila GmbH
Vicki Marx
CEO
In der Herrnau 3
90518 Altdorf

www.mamalila.de

Profile

Master wood turner’s certificate with special qualification for ski and sleigh construction
Architectural studies
Postgraduate course in building biology
MBA postgraduate course
Art Director at Munich’s Serviceplan advertising agency
CEO INDIGO (since 2001)

Address

Schwabe & Baer Entwicklungs GmbH
Thorsten Schwabe
CEO
Kapuzinerplatz 5
80337 Munich
Germany

www.indigosnow.de

“I am very happy to be part of this year’s jury and I am looking forward to testing cool new products and supporting motivated people in creating successful businesses with their ideas.“

Profile

Johannes Scholl is an industrial designer and co-founder of ICAROS – last years ISPO BRANDNEW Overall Winner. After studying industrial design at HBK Saarbrücken, Johannes gained years of experience working in product development and design with Munich based innovation Company HYVE. His products have been awarded with several prestigious awards, e.g. RedDot, iF- and German Design Award.

Address

ICAROS GmbH
Johannes Scholl
Managing Director
Schellingstr. 45
80799 Munich
Germany

www.icaros.net

“I love new gear as much as I love innovation and entrepreneurship, so being an ISPO BRANDNEW Judge is like getting an extra Christmas Eve.“

Profile

Thomas Helms started his career as a consultant at McKinsey and moved on to a corporate VP job before leaving all that behind and embarking on his entrepreneurial journey. Thomas did a couple of small projects on his own before becoming a CFO at Endomondo. In 2013 he co-founded Vaavud, which he has been the CEO of since then. Vaavud was awarded as an ISPO BRANDNEW Finalist in 2015 and has won a RedDot Design award. Thomas is a passionate kitesurfer, surfer, wake boarder, mountain biker, road cyclist and runner.

Address

Vaavud ApS
Thomas Helms
Co-founder & CEO
Njalsgade 19D, 1 fl
2300 Copenhagen S
Denmark

"Winning at ISPO BRANDNEW 2014 in the category Hardware Winter was our entry into the global sports industry. I hope to contribute and make sure the jury choose the best new products and give the winners a fantastic opportunity and exposure they deserve."

Profile

Educated as an Architect, he founded Snowmotion in 2012 together with a fellow group of product designers and a branding consultants. Eight friends, dedicated to disrupt the snowshoe industry through revolutionary product design and production methods, unparalleled user experience and value based brand building. Fimbulvetr has received several awards, among them ISPO BRANDNEW 2014 Winner Hardware Winter, ISPO AWARD GOLD WINNER 2016, RedDot Award 2014 and Award for Design Excellence.

Address

Fimbulvetr Snowshoes | Snowmotion AS
Christian Brunsvig
Chief Executive Officer
Fredensborgveien 24D
0177 Oslo
Norway

http://www.fimbulvetr.no/