After leading L.L. Bean for more than four decades and steering the outdoors store to its prominent spot as Maine’s most recognized brand, Leon Gorman ’56 is stepping down as chairman of the company. His nephew Shawn Gorman, great-grandson of company founder Leon Leonwood Bean, will replace him, the Portland Press Herald reports.

In 2010, Bowdoin College gave Gorman, a trustee emeritus of the College, The Bowdoin Prize, the highest honor the College bestows. The prize is awarded every five years “to the graduate or former member of the College, or member of its Faculty at the time of the award, who shall have made during the period the most distinctive contribution in any field of human endeavor.” Gorman was selected based on his distinguished career as a business leader, conservationist and philanthropist.