Changing of the Guard at L.L. Bean

Freeport, ME—Leon Gorman, who has run the catalog company his grandfather Leon Leonwood (L.L.) Bean founded in the 1910s, has stepped upstairs to chairman. In his place, longtime Bean executive Chris McCormick has been promoted to president/CEO.

McCormick, 45, who has gradually climbed the corporate ladder to his most recent position of chief operating officer, becomes the first nonfamily member to run the 89-year-old apparel and sporting goods cataloger. He joined L.L. Bean in 1983 as assistant advertising manager.

When Bean died in 1967, Gorman took over the then-$5 million company. Thirty-four years later under Gorman’s stewardship, L.L. Bean has exceeded $1.1 billion in sales.

McCormick’s promotion is at least the second major change in the executive ranks this year at L.L. Bean. Earlier this year, former Cornerstone Brands executive Mark Fasold was named Bean’s CFO.