Stephen Smith

Stephen Smith, president and CEO of the Freeport-based outdoor gear retailer, delivered the keynote at Thursday's all-day gathering in Portland.

The Freeport-based outdoor retailer will pay a bonus of 13.5% of annual pay, down from 20% a year ago.

The award will be presented at the National Association of Corporate Directors New England's annual Director of the Year gala on April 25 in Boston.

Maine businesses will work with groups in the Black, indigenous, and people-of-color communities to create networking and learning opportunities for current employees and future ones.

The 2021 revenue boom topped the previous year's, and reached an all-time high for the Freeport company of $1.8 billion.

The company implemented e-commerce in 1996, positioning it to take on the shift away from in-person retail shopping during the pandemic. A return to outdoor branding also helped.

For six years, a group of Portland-area chief executives from companies like Hannaford and WEX have been informally meeting to share ideas and camaraderie. That help has become more important than ever during the pandemic, says the group's founder, Steve Smith of L.L.Bean.

L.L.Bean plans to open three new stores in the U.S. and four new stores in Canada in 2021 as President and CEO Stephen Smith underscores the Freeport retailer's commitment to increase its bricks-and-mortar presence.

The Freeport company's president said that, for now, it will hold off on selling 247 acres along Interstate 295 and Desert Road for a mixed-use development that would include 529 houses, apartments and duplexes — and is strongly opposed by residents.

The Freeport-based manufacturer of outdoor gear and apparel is teaming up with Zappos in a new wholesale partnership unveiled on Thursday.