Sea Bags marks 'end of an era' with two leadership departures

Beth Greenlaw and Don Oakes of Sea Bags.

File photo From left, Beth Greenlaw, the president and largest shareholder of Sea Bags, and CEO Don Oakes, have both resigned from the company, effective Friday, Oct. 4.

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By Renee Cordes

The top two executives of Sea Bags are leaving the Portland-based manufacturer and retailer — whose totes and other accessories are made from recycled sails — effective Friday, Oct. 4.

Beth Greenlaw, the company’s president and largest shareholder, announced her resignation in a one-page memo to staff dated Sept. 17. Less than two weeks later, on Sept. 30, CEO Don Oakes announced his own decision to leave in a note to employees.

“It’s hard to believe that the end of an era at Sea Bags is here,” Oakes said in an internal Sept. 17 memo about Greenlaw’s departure, praising his longtime colleague as “the face of the brand and I dare say the heart and soul.”

Neither Oakes nor Greenlaw were available to answer questions by phone or email ahead of Thursday morning’s board meeting at Sea Bags.

“It has been a privilege to lead Sea Bags for the last 11 years and to work alongside such a passionate team,” Oakes said in a statement emailed to Mainebiz on Thursday. “I am grateful for the support of our incredible crew and customers, and I look forward to seeing how Sea Bags continues to thrive in the future.”

In a separate statement, Greenlaw said, “As the most enthusiastic cheerleader of the brand, I’m grateful for all the personal and professional support from the Sea Bags employees, our shareholders, the community, and our state leaders for the last 18 years. I can't wait to see what the future brings.”

Expansion drive

Founded in 1999, Sea Bags has been on an expansion tear in recent years. There are 11 stores in Maine, and the company has grown its footprint beyond the state, with stores across New England, down the East Coast to Florida and even as far as the midwestern state of Michigan.

“What started with two employees rose to become a nationally recognized brand with more than 280 employees, over 50 stores spanning the Eastern Seaboard and beyond, selling more than 225,000 products annually, and saving more than 800 tons of used sails from the landfill over these years,” Oakes said in his Sept. 17 note to employees.

Oakes, who took the helm in November 2013 after nearly two decades at L.L.Bean, was honored as a Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year in 2022, 11 years after Greenlaw was honored as a Woman to Watch.

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