40 Under 40: Amelia Boyken
Product Design Manager; Winnebago; With company: 5 years | Industry experience: 5 years
For Amelia, designing an RV is about understanding the people who use it and the experiences they hope to have on the road. As product design manager at Winnebago, she combines research, customer interaction and an enthusiasm for the RV lifestyle to help shape products around the needs of today’s owners.
Amelia’s ability to connect with RVers is one of her defining strengths, according to her nominator. Her outgoing personality allows her to engage with customers from a wide range of backgrounds, gathering insights that can help Winnebago improve the RV experience as the customer base continues to evolve.
Her nominator says Amelia “personifies” Winnebago’s tradition of developing products by spending time with customers and experiencing the RV lifestyle alongside them. Following the significant changes in the RV customer base during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, she recognized a common thread among many newer RVers: a desire for greater self-sufficiency and control over their experiences.
That customer perspective also informs Amelia’s approach to product development. One of the challenges in developing RV features is determining how much value a particular feature provides relative to its manufacturing cost. Amelia has developed comparative analysis tools that help quantify the impact of features based on consumer needs and then compare those options against pricing.
“The best way to truly stay plugged into these industry and customer trends is to get out there and live them alongside our owners,” her nominator says.
Research and data are central to Amelia’s work. She has helped develop methodologies and processes that Winnebago uses to gather information through industry shows, owner meetups, owner-experience interviews and user-testing programs. Those insights give product teams additional information for making decisions and developing products with a clear purpose.
Amelia joined Winnebago as a level 1 product planner and advanced to level 2 product planner before moving into her current role as product design manager. She also leads the styling department for her functional work group.
Outside of work, Amelia interests reflect the same creative energy she brings to her career. She enjoys hunting, fishing, drawing, restoring and selling old vehicles, snowboarding and spending time with family and friends. She also volunteers and supports veterans, firefighters and first responders.
Her nominator says Amelia views an RV not simply as a vehicle, but as a platform for experiences — whether helping a family explore together or giving someone the freedom to pursue a long-held dream. That perspective is central to how she approaches her work: understanding the people behind the product and using their experiences to help shape what comes next.
Amelia’s advice for up-and-coming leaders in the RV industry:
I start my days flipping through feedback, photos and comments from our owners; this really helps me center on what our products mean to people. They aren’t just a second home or a toy for the weekend; they are the embodiment of fulfilled dreams — traveling nurses having their own space to rest, families visiting loved ones otherwise beyond their reach, those recovering from a number of hurdles who need to get away to find their solace and hundreds of other stories from those I’ve met and learned from. Understanding this, understanding our people, helps produce an RV that truly accommodates the everyday but also the once-in-a-lifetime.
What it means to Amelia to be a 40 Under 40 honoree:
This industry is filled with so many amazing folks with a breadth and depth of knowledge that I am in awe of. I am honored to be considered to the 40 Under 40, as it feels like the continuation of that knowledge base as we stand on the shoulders of giants. Thank you!
