The Moodie Davitt Report brings you the latest instalment in our popular series Ten Easy Pieces*, in which we get up close and personal with leading travel retail personalities via ten snapshot questions.
Meet Cabeau CEO David Sternlight, the perfectionist whose dread of long-haul flights led to “game-changing” product developments.
1. Where were you born and raised?
I was born in West Los Angeles, California, the oldest in a family of three, with a younger sister, Deborah, and brother, Andrew. My father, Joe, was born in Jerusalem in 1944 and had moved to the US in 1955. My mother’s name is Ruth and her family was from Scotland and Germany.
It’s fair to say I was very active from a very early age; and some of my friends and associates would say that I haven’t changed much! I was involved in at least three sports – basketball, soccer and baseball – from the age of four, probably because my mother was fantastic in offering me an incredible range of activities from an early age. I was playing the piano at four and learning languages (I was fluent in French at seven) and other skills through summer camps.
My father introduced me to the ocean and I can thank him for my love of the sea and, later, my passion for scuba diving. During the summer he used to take my sister and me to the beach – Malibu or Santa Monica – really early in the morning, 5 or 6am, to boogie board.
I really loved that until I was six or seven and saw Jaws. I stopped going in the ocean for a couple of years after that; I was scared stiff. That did not stop me wanting to go to Marine Land though to marvel at all the marine life and aquariums.
2. And your teenage years?
I had a lot of fun when I was young and always had a bit of a rebellious streak.
Going into teenage years I loved maths and sciences and that was fine until someone spotted me in the High School marching band. I was branded a geek for a year or so after that.
By the time I was 13 or 14 I was already very tall and pretty good at basketball so my focus was there. I played for Santa Monica College, then transferred to and played at University of New Mexico, and finished my studies and collegiate basketball career at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
I studied and finished a degree in psychology but basketball was my primary focus in life at that stage.
I considered two other career prospects around that time. One was to work with autistic children and the other was marine biology. I knew that the first required a ton of patience and the second invariably a secondary job. They weren’t for me.
3. Did you consider playing professionally?
I was fortunate. It had always been a dream of mine, and I was lucky enough to play professionally for four years. I hold dual citizenship and decided in 1997 to move to Israel after a scout saw me at a training camp for the Maccabiah Games. I had the ability to live elsewhere (I already knew the Hebrew language from attending classes throughout my childhood) and I jumped at the offer to play for Hapoel Holon in the 1st Division in Israel.
I was 6ft 8in and, as an American-trained Israeli, regarded as a wildcard by the professional teams there. I ended up playing with three teams and was on the Maccabi Tel Aviv team which claimed the 2001 FIBA SuproLeague European Championships title.
I loved living in Israel; the country is a huge part of what I am. And I loved being part of the team there. It was an incredible experience; one of the highlights of my life.
4. Did you consider staying in Israel permanently?
Yes I did, as I really enjoyed so much about the country. However, after a few years the draw to be near my family and friends proved so strong that I retired from basketball at a young age, even though I had offers to make a comeback for years afterwards.
I returned to Los Angeles in search of a job. I could probably have made use of my ‘status’ as a professional basketball player but I didn’t want to use that advantage. I am a big believer in learning by doing and ended up with a local telemarketing company. I decided to learn to sell on the phone; I was dealing in real estate and auctioned cars.
It underlined my theory that everything in life revolves around sales and has to do in some way with psychology.
The job lasted four months; which was probably about three months too long. However I did get seasoned at being able to overcome objections.
5. So you opted for sales?
I was always fairly passionate and believed in what I did, so sales felt natural. I sold medical devices for about 18 months and then back into real estate for about five years. I love being able to educate people and share whatever I can, and I looked at selling whatever I was in as giving people the tools they needed to make an educated decision. Thankfully I’ve been fortunate enough to represent great products and services in my career.
I was still playing basketball, on a sports club league level, whenever I could but gradually got put off and rather frustrated when I realised I was constantly having to protect myself from ‘hits on the big guy’. A nagging shoulder injury and two failed operations really put an end to any serious basketball.
6. And you decided to set up Cabeau?
No, not immediately. My wife and I purchased a gift company which unfortunately was a casualty of the economic downturn of 2008/2009.
Like many aspects of my life, there’s an interesting story behind Cabeau.
I’m very tall and have broad shoulders. Just the thought of travelling and, in particular, flying used to bother me. It was always a challenge, and while I would tell myself it was only temporary, I hated the discomfort.
In 2008 I was on a flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong and I was particularly unlucky to be seated in the middle of the centre row in Economy. I pleaded with the flight attendants to change my seat but the flight was packed. I couldn’t fit anywhere; I was uncomfortable, tossing and turning, as well as pacing the airplane for most of the 15 hour flight. I had plenty of time to watch other passengers who were trying to sleep using u-shaped travel pillows.
I arrived in Hong Kong exhausted and promised myself to buy one of the pillows before I flew back to Los Angeles.
I did and quickly realised that they were one of the biggest gimmicks I had ever come across; they did very little and certainly didn’t help over long journeys. And that sparked a mission. Over the next 18 months I went on a crusade to develop the best travel pillow in the world.
With the help of a great team of talented people, we came up with the Evolution Pillow. It wasn’t easy though. We approached over 2,500 people with a ten-question survey to find out why they were buying travel pillows; what they really wanted. And do you know what the main reason for purchasing one of those u-shaped pillows invariably was? A very simple, and rather surprising, ‘it’s better than nothing’.
Cabeau, which was named after my amazing son, Luca Beau, was set up and incorporated in December 2009, and we started doing business in March 2010. Amazingly, next year is our tenth anniversary!
7. Would you describe yourself as a perfectionist?
Ha, that’s a good question. Yes, in many ways I am. And that, of course has its advantages and disadvantages.
I always want to put my best foot forward. I think that is deeply embedded into me through my mother’s Scottish ethnicity and passed-down upbringing.
I have always loved a challenge, the intensity of sport and, in particular, basketball, the discipline and the coaching. I do everything with passion and want to get everything right before I put a Cabeau or David Sternlight ‘stamp’ on it.
I guess you can see that in the development of Cabeau’s latest Track & Shield solution. It’s an amazing product but it’s complicated; the cutting edge of technology. It will be a game changer but it has to be right. When you have the US military contacting you for the technology you know you are on to something.
That said it has to have the Cabeau seal of approval before it rolls out. And that will happen next year.
8. Are you a listener or a talker?
I wish I could say that I’m a complete listener; I believe there is a good reason we have two ears and one mouth.
I guess I am a bit more of a talker than I would want to be. However, when I talk with someone I am completely into that conversation. I have particularly good listening skills but wish I could make more use of them!
9. And your passion for music?
Now that dates back to my childhood and those extra classes and camps that my mother arranged for me. I played the piano as a youngster and then clarinet and trumpet until age 15.
I am absolutely in love with music. Over the years I’ve developed a liking for deep and soulful house music, and especially Afro House and Afro Tech. It incorporates such incredible percussion with strong basslines and very unique sounds.
I was a bedroom DJ for about ten years and I was very fortunate to have a great friend who taught me how to perform and play out and about. My first DJ set was at the Tribe Tambor Cruise party in May, 2017 alongside DJ Legends, as if I didn’t have enough pressure for my first gig.
My DJ name is Destination, and it was given to me by one of Cabeau’s distributors at one of our events.
I am also blessed to be surrounded by very friendly, very talented musicians and other DJs from all over the world.
Funny, people have asked me how I find the time and energy to work, to DJ, to devote time to my family. I have even been asked if I am on drugs or something to keep me going! I most certainly am not, and thankfully have an ever-turning motor. However I do believe that, at 46, I am unique.
I would like to be able to spend more time on my music but there are, of course, other passions as well. I am dedicated to my son, my girlfriend, my family and friends. I make sure I have quality time with them all and that’s not easy. I do make conscious efforts to organise my time.
And there’s also Blueberry, my and my son’s Boston Terrier. ‘Blue’ comes to work every day, and is also Cabeau’s official mascot. We take her just about everywhere except out of town. She likes people more than dogs.
I also go to the gym three times a week. I would like to go more often but believe I lead a pretty balanced life right now and I am happy about that. And, of course, I still love to scuba dive. That remains a passion… one that I can’t wait to share with Luca who is ten years old now.
Funny, people have asked me how I find the time and energy to work, to DJ, to devote time to my family. I have even been asked if I am on drugs or something to keep me going! I most certainly am not, and thankfully have an ever-turning motor. However I do believe that, at 46, I am unique.
10. Is there a David Sternlight philosophy?
Generally, whatever I do, I do with passion. If I sleep, I want to sleep hard; if I go to the gym I want to work out. Inevitably, I’m starting the next set within a minute of completing the last one, and I don’t want to stand around talking to someone. When I spend time with my son I don’t want that compromised; and when I work, I work hard.
Integrity is of the upmost importance to me. You have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror and accept what you see. If I am at fault, I apologise and I try to be as self aware as possible.
My philosophy? That would be to improve, wherever and however I can, and help those around me do the same.
I believe that overflows into my business as well. It is deeply embedded in Cabeau’s culture and not just our product development. We are fully committed to giving back and have a volunteer-based programme which operates once a month. We ‘shut up shop’ for most of the day; it could mean helping a local charity or children’s hospital, or we could just spend time on busy street corners with signs encouraging passer-by to ‘call your mother’ or ‘smile’.
The rule is to be selfless; that’s what is important.
*PREVIOUSLY FEATURED TEN EASY PIECES PERSONALITIES INCLUDE:
Meet Distell Managing Director Travel Retail Luke Maga
Meet Wonderful Pistachios Director of Sales Global Travel Retail James Kfouri
Meet Mars International Travel Retail General Manager Gary Clarke
Meet Maui Jim Senior Duty Free Sales Director Giles Marks
Meet Duty Free Development Consulting Founder and CEO David Dayan
