11 July 2024

Award-winning marine navigation app, savvy navvy, has appointed Jacco Willemsen as its new Global Sales Manager, responsible for creating a global distributor network and further increasing app sales.

Willemsen, who worked as the EMEA Sales Manager for Navionics for 10 years, brings with him a wealth of experience and had been especially impressed by savvy navvy’s user-friendly design, interface and its continued global growth.

"I have kept a close eye on savvy navvy the past few years, and now felt like the right time for a new challenge. Offering clutter-free charts and smart routing, savvy navvy is really challenging the bigger navigation apps on the market. The idea is to create a global distributor network, allowing dealers to earn from the app, which is a unique advantage compared to other products in the market," says Jacco Willemsen.

Willemsen is based in the Netherlands and has spent most of his career within the marine industry, spending the last decade leading sales for Navionics (Garmin) especially in the USA, Europe and Middle East.

“We’re super excited to welcome Jacco on board as we continue to scale up savvy navvy. His wealth of experience and innovative ideas to get us into dealers as the first navigation application is very much in line with our vision to support the industry and in getting more people to enjoy the water through safer and simpler navigation,” says Jelte Liebrand, Founder and CEO of savvy navvy.

The appointment of Jacco Willemsen comes just a few weeks after savvy navvy reached more than 1.8 million downloads and launched its latest feature. ‘Importing Markers’ allows users to import their favourite locations and markers from various navigational tools using a simple GPX file upload. 

Offering clutter-free charts and smart routing, savvy navvy – often referred to as ‘Google maps for boats’ – solves vital navigation issues for boaters, kayakers, paddleboarders and jet-skiers. It gives users the best route based on the departure time, chart, weather, tide, boat data and local regulations. 

To find out more or download the savvy navvy app, visit www.savvy-navvy.com.