This interview has been edited for length, continuity and clarity. A more complete version is available here.

How did you take Stanley’s history, brand equity and what Stanley stands for and update it for today’s consumers?

Navarro: Stanley has reinvented itself several times over the last hundred years. We are a transformational brand. We have a long history and have been a part of culture throughout many generations, and we’re continuing to tap into that cultural connection and connect to consumers. We like to frame it as our eras. From 1913 to 1965, we helped people go to work. As modern America was built, people brought their lunch box to the job site. From about 1965 to 2020, when food service became more readily available on the job site, we shifted and helped consumers get outside and enjoy the great outdoors. In more recent history, we’ve leaned into hydration, meeting especially the female consumer in her everyday life—connected to her fashion, style, lifestyle—and disrupted the hydration and drinkware space with innovative products and colors.

What is it like leading a company that is the viral “it” thing, and how do you manage that popularity to maintain Stanley’s positive view in the larger social media and pop culture sphere?

We are much more than a viral moment. We are focused on longevity over short-lived hype. We’re creating products that have impacts on consumers’ lives. We’re designed for performance, and our “Built For Life” promise [reinforces that]. We’ve become a part of consumers’ everyday lives. We’re original. We’re relevant. We move at the speed of culture. We stay connected to culture through our collaborations and partnerships, and ensuring that we’re distributed the right way around the world. 

We’re a global brand and a global organization, which is a bit unique in our space. Our North American business is incredibly successful, but we’re also growing fast in Europe and across Asia, in places like Japan and Korea. We’re staying current and connected to culture, and we’re building this brand for the next hundred years.

You’ve worked for other legacy brands before coming to Stanley. What advice would you give leaders at other legacy brands about remaining relevant and being a brand everyone talks about?

I believe the heart of strong leadership is how you build your team, and it’s also how you build your brand. It’s diversity and authenticity. For me as a leader, the more diverse points of view, the more diverse skill sets, the more diverse levels of experience and backgrounds that we can hire within the Bearforce, the better decisions, the better products, the better innovation, the better we are as a team. In that environment, we also allow those people to be authentic, to be themselves and to thrive in a very authentic way. 

Authenticity is the really important piece of how you connect the brand to consumers. Consumers are really smart, and you can’t fool them or trick them, even if you try, in today’s world. What Stanley has done a really fantastic job of, and what we’ll continue to do, is be authentic to who we are, honor the past and our heritage, but also continue to innovate and connect to culture and connect to consumers as we build the future.

Given its long history, Stanley will likely be around for generations to come. What do you hope people are saying about the brand in 10 years?

In some ways, we are at our best when people don’t even notice that we’re there. And what I mean by that is when people are at the yoga studio, in their car, at a tailgate or in the backyard, we’re making their life better. We’re fueling human connections with the people they're with, and we’re obviously hydrating them. That’s what I hope we can be. Today, we’re at the heart of culture and consumers’ lives. I hope we can continue to do that and meet people in more places within their lives over the next 10 years.