A founder steps back. A seasoned brand builder steps up. And a growing adventure company eyes what comes next.
When Jeffrey Hunter started Storyteller Overland out of Birmingham, Alabama in 2018, he had seven people and an idea. The idea was simple enough on its surface — build overland vehicles that actually reflected the spirit of the people driving them. What happened next was anything but simple.
Seven years later, Storyteller Overland has grown into what the company calls a full-scale adventure lifestyle brand, complete with a nationwide dealer network, multiple product lines, and a community of owners that the leadership team describes almost like a family. The company has made several strategic acquisitions along the way and pushed through a period of rapid expansion that tested what it meant to stay true to a brand while also scaling it.
Now comes the next chapter. And it starts with a leadership change.
Hunter Hands Off the Keys
Storyteller Overland recently announced that Hunter will be moving out of his chief executive role and into the position of chairman. Taking over as CEO is Neil Grimmer, who joined the company in 2024 as chief strategy officer.
For anyone who has followed the overland industry closely, this kind of transition can feel like a moment of real uncertainty. Founders carry something with them that is hard to put into words — a feel for the brand, a gut sense of what fits and what does not. Handing that over, even to someone you trust, is not a small thing.
Hunter seems to understand that better than anyone.
"I am beyond grateful to the entire Storyteller team and community for their creativity, trust and partnership in building what has become the most unique and special adventure-ready lifestyle brand of its type anywhere on the planet," Hunter said. "While it's always stunning to look back on the depth of what we have been able to achieve together in such a relatively short period of time, it's even more inspiring to look over the horizon and imagine all the wholesome radness that is still stretched out ahead of us into the future."
He went on to explain why Grimmer was the right pick, and he did not hold back. "After working closely with Neil as our Chief Strategy Officer to elevate so many aspects of our business in recent years, I have observed all of his most soulful human characteristics combined with the finer points of his exceptional business acumen come together in ways that give me full assurance he is the right person for this role at this important moment in our shared history."
That level of confidence from a founder is notable. These kinds of transitions often come with tension underneath the surface, even when the public messaging is polished. The tone from Hunter reads as genuine — and his decision to stay involved as chairman rather than fully stepping away suggests he is not walking out the door. He will continue to focus on long-range vision, company culture, capital and key strategic relationships.
Who Is Neil Grimmer?
For those unfamiliar with Grimmer, his background is worth knowing because it tells you a lot about what Storyteller is hoping to become.
He did not come up through the outdoor or overland world. He started his career as a senior designer at IDEO, one of the most respected design and innovation consultancies on the planet, where he worked with Fortune 500 companies on projects built around human-centered design. That kind of training — learning to build products and experiences around how people actually think and feel — tends to leave a lasting mark on how someone approaches leadership.
From there, Grimmer co-founded Plum Organics in 2007 and served as its CEO. Under his watch, the company grew into the top-selling organic baby food brand in the country before being acquired by Campbell Soup Company. That is not a small feat. Building a brand from nothing to category leader in a crowded consumer market requires a very specific mix of creativity, operational discipline and storytelling ability.
His most recent stop before Storyteller was Harley-Davidson, where he served as Brand President. He was brought in specifically to revitalize the consumer experience and bring new riders into the fold — no small task for a brand carrying that much heritage and that many deeply loyal, sometimes resistant-to-change fans.
The parallel to Storyteller is obvious. Both brands deal in identity as much as product. Both attract customers who are deeply invested in what the brand represents, not just what it builds. And both have had to figure out how to grow without alienating the people who loved them first.
Grimmer stepped into the Storyteller organization in 2024, spent roughly a year working alongside Hunter as chief strategy officer, and has spent that time shaping the company's long-term direction and driving measurable growth. His move into the CEO seat, according to company leadership, is less a leap and more a natural next step.
"I want to share my deep respect and admiration for Jeffrey as a visionary leader, partner and dear friend," Grimmer said. "It's a true honor to step into this role and be trusted to steward Storyteller at such an important moment in our journey."
He also laid out his priorities in straightforward terms. "Storyteller has already built something special: a brand rooted in freedom, adventure and the joy of sharing the journey around the campfire with a growing community of owners who quickly feel like old friends. My focus is simple — stay true to that foundation, strengthen what's working and keep pushing into what's next."
Growing Against the Grain
Here is the number that makes this whole story more interesting than your standard executive reshuffling announcement. Storyteller Overland posted 40 percent year-over-year growth during a period when the broader industry was seeing double-digit declines.
Read that again. While competitors were shrinking, Storyteller was growing — and growing fast.
That kind of performance in a down market says something about how the company has positioned itself. It is not just selling vehicles. It is selling a way of spending time, a set of values, a reason to get off the pavement and go find out what is around the next bend. That kind of brand connection is hard to manufacture and even harder to maintain as a company scales up.
The leadership team, with Grimmer now at the helm, has laid out plans to push even harder. The focus going forward will be on accelerating product development, expanding manufacturing capacity, and deepening support for the dealer network that has become a critical part of how Storyteller reaches and serves its owners.
The owner community itself will also remain a central priority. That community — people who already own a Storyteller rig and have become advocates for the brand — has been one of the most valuable assets the company built under Hunter's leadership. These are not passive customers. They show up at events. They share their trips. They recruit new owners. Protecting and growing that culture while the company scales up is one of the more difficult balancing acts in business, and it will be one of the first real tests of Grimmer's tenure.
What This Means for the Overland Market
The broader context here matters. The overland and adventure vehicle segment has had a wild ride over the past several years. Pandemic-era demand sent interest in overlanding, van life and off-road travel through the roof. Companies scrambled to meet that demand, ramped up production, and then watched the market cool significantly as consumer spending shifted and economic pressures mounted.
A lot of companies in this space have struggled. Some have pulled back. Others have disappeared entirely.
Storyteller not only survived that correction — it grew through it. That positions the company in a very different place than most of its competitors heading into the next few years.
The leadership transition is happening at a moment when the company has momentum, not one where it is scrambling. That matters. Transitions made from strength are fundamentally different than transitions made under duress. Grimmer is not walking into a turnaround situation. He is walking into a growth story that needs to be managed carefully so it does not outrun its own culture.
A Brand Built Around Something Real
One of the things that has always separated Storyteller Overland from many of its competitors is that the brand felt like it came from an actual point of view. Hunter was not just building vehicles — he was articulating a philosophy about how people should spend their time and what kind of experiences are worth chasing.
That philosophy — get outside, go far, share it with people who get it — resonates with a specific kind of person. Not someone who needs to be convinced that the outdoors is valuable. Someone who already knows it, already makes it a priority, and is looking for gear and vehicles and a community that matches that commitment.
Grimmer, by all accounts, understands this. His background in human-centered design means he has spent his career thinking about what actually matters to people and building products and brands around those real needs and values rather than surface-level marketing assumptions.
"We're going to keep building and learning as we continue to trailblaze new ways for people to experience the world with Storyteller," Grimmer said.
The language there is deliberate. Not just selling trucks. Helping people experience the world. That framing tells you what the new CEO thinks this company is actually in the business of doing.
The Road Ahead
Leadership transitions at beloved brands always carry some uncertainty. The people who care most about a company — the die-hard owners, the long-time dealers, the employees who have been there since close to the beginning — watch these moments closely. They want to know that the thing they love is going to be protected.
From the outside, the Storyteller transition looks like one of the cleaner ones you will see. A founder who built something real, stepped back thoughtfully rather than abruptly, and handed the wheel to someone he had already worked alongside long enough to trust completely. A new CEO who spent a year inside the organization before taking the top job, rather than parachuting in as an outside hire with no institutional knowledge.
Whether Grimmer can maintain what made Storyteller special while also pushing the company into its next phase of growth is the question that will take a few years to fully answer. But the foundation he is building on — strong brand identity, a fiercely loyal owner base, real momentum in a struggling market — is about as solid as it gets.
Hunter built something worth handing off. Now it is Grimmer's job to prove it was worth the trust.
