🔒From the Editor: After last year’s turbulent ride, what’s ahead for 2021?

While last year was a year we’ll never forget, no one seems quite certain what this year will look like.

But we know that whatever 2021 brings, Maine business leaders will be better prepared to deal with it. After a year marked by the pandemic, economic shutdowns, high unemployment, protests over cases of police brutality and a contentious presidential election, people have honed their adaptation skills.

In this issue, we went back to some of the people we talked to last year, before the pandemic. What happened? How were things different. While some sectors were hammered by the shutdown, others saw their businesses grow. See “No one saw it coming, and yet…” on Page 12.

Looking this year, we look at 12 industries and how they might respond and perform. See “Challenges and expectations for 2021” on Page 14.

Economist Jeff Fuhrer, who recently left the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, has been a long-running keynote speaker at the annual Mainebiz “Five on the Future” panel — and is on deck to again deliver the keynote at next month’s event. In a Q&A with Mainebiz, he warns that a long recovery is still ahead of us. See more in “On the Record” on Page 21.

Intermed tops the list of largest PPP loans in Maine, through the first round. See Page 10 for more.

Finally, I want to make sure our readers see the “From the Publisher” note from Donna Brassard. After more than two decades of leading Mainebiz, Donna plans to step down at the end of March. We will all miss her, but I personally will miss her guidance, strong leadership and infectious spirit. She’s never been one to sugarcoat the truth, which can be hard to hear sometimes. But over the years I began to appreciate and trust her candor and integrity. She will be missed! See Page 11 for her farewell column.