L.L.Bean has promoted top retail executive Greg Elder to succeed Stephen Smith as president and CEO, the Freeport-based maker and seller outdoor apparel and gear announced Friday.
Smith, who has led the company for a decade, announced his departure last July. He succeeded Chris McCormick, the first non-family member to lead the firm, in February 2016.
Elder has been with L.L. Bean for close to two decades, most recently as chief retail officer overseeing stores, wholesale, international and direct-to-business operations. He has been leading the $50 million overhaul of the flagship Freeport campus.
“With this perspective, he will implement the next phase of the company’s long-term plan through an ‘evolve and amplify’ strategy that builds on the 115-year-old retailer’s enduring legacy of quality, customer services and outdoor heritage,” the company said.
Elder will start to transition into the role in the first quarter as the company closes out its fiscal year in late February. Smith will stay on through March in an advisory capacity.
“It’s an incredible honor to be named CEO of L.L.Bean,” Elder said in Friday’s announcement. “This brand has shaped who I am — not just as a leader, but as someone who deeply believes in the power of the outdoors to bring people together.”
Elder previously served in leadership roles at Eddie Bauer Inc. and Dayton Hudson Corp. (now Target) before joining L.L.Bean in 2007 as a vice president.
Shawn Gorman, who leads the company’s board of directors, gave a shoutout to Smith for his leadership and partnership over the past decade and during the transition.
“Steve helped guide the company through meaningful cultural transformation while strengthening the business for the long term,” Gorman said.
L.L. Bean completed a $110 million makeover of its headquarters building in 2023 and is in the midst of a $50 million revamp of its flagship store and Freeport campus.
The company was founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean as a tiny operation selling a single product. As of July 2025, the company operated 65 stores in 19 states, along with 25 stores in Japan and more than a dozen stores in Canada in partnership with the Jaytex Group. It added a store in Biddeford last year.
L.L.Bean is ranked as Maine’s largest family-owned business and seventh-largest private employer in the 2026 Mainebiz Book of Lists.