Geneva Long, founder and CEO of Bowlus Road Chief, has been selected in the Manufacturing & Industry category as a member of Forbes 30 Under 30, an annual list of 600 individuals from 15,000 nominees who the magazine believes is changing the face of business.
Long was selected for her work as an innovator in the RV industry. Forbes editors say those picked by the magazine are “a collection of bold 600 revolutionaries in 20 industries changing the course of—and the face—of business and society.
Long, the first woman to begin an RV company, says she sought to convert the original iconic Bowlus aluminum travel trailer into today’s most advanced RV, when she revived the company in 2011.
“I’ve reimagined the Bowlus Road Chief for supreme comfort and maximum performance with any innovations that employed design, technology and user experience that were never seen in the industry before,” Long says. “In over six years of production, all Road Chiefs are in the original owners’ hands, a testament to the quality, craftsmanship and buyer experience that we have pioneered.”
Bowlus Road Chief is the first RV with heated floors and to include charging stations/router/WIFI amplifier for personal technology. Long says she also created the ultra-luxury market for travel trailers, the first lithium-powered travel trailers with sophisticated power management system and the first truly sustainable RV.
Long hooked by Road Chief
Long never forgot the first time she experienced Bowlus Road Chief two decades ago when her family acquired a 1935 model after the completion of a 3,000-mile North American road trip. She says she was hooked by the Road Chief’s classic design and wanted to repeat the same feelings when the first revived Road Chief hit the open road.
“The magic I felt the first day of starting Bowlus Road Chief has never stopped, and for that, I am grateful,” Long says. “There is nothing more beautiful than a Bowlus Road Chief and the emotions you feel the first time you run your fingers over a line of perfect and true aircraft-grade rivets embodies an incredible desire for adventure.”
Long is a 2012 graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She also holds a Master of Science in finance from the International University of Monaco.
Hawley Bowlus built the Bowlus Road Chief, the first aluminum riveted travel trailer in 1934. Between 1934-1936, he built more than 80 Bowlus Road Chiefs, which made appearances in major pictures and were purchased by major motion picture stars.
