speaker-photo

Kathryn Wise

Director of Design and Construction, L.L.Bean
Kathryn Wise is Director of Design & Construction at L.L.Bean, where she leads the planning, design, and delivery of retail, workplace, and campus environments across the company’s portfolio. Within Facilities, she oversees new store development, major renovations, and large-scale capital projects, with a particular focus on translating brand strategy into physical experience.  Kathryn currently leads the multi-year Freeport Experience, the reimagining of L.L.Bean’s iconic Flagship campus, bringing together retail, architecture, placemaking, accessibility, and customer centric design to transform a historic destination for the future. Her work bridges heritage and innovation, ensuring that environments remain authentic, intuitive, and deeply human.  As an architect she has a passion for experiential retail, Kathryn partners closely with cross functional teams to create spaces that support both business performance and emotional connection. She is especially interested in how retail can learn from hospitality, community design, and storytelling to build places people return to, not just stores they shop.  In addition to her professional work, Kathryn serves on the board of the nonprofit Camp Susan Curtius, which helps children facing economic hardship attend summer camp in Maine. She is a 2025 MaineBiz 40 Under 40 award recipient and a former board member of AIA Maine. Outside of work, she enjoys skiing, spending time at the lake, and being outdoors with her husband and two young children. 
11:15 AM - 12:00 PM

Wednesday October 7

HERITAGE TO HERE AND NOW: DESIGNING THE L.L.BEAN FLAGSHIP REMODEL AS A BRAND EXPERIENCE

As retail continues to evolve beyond transactional spaces, flagship environments are being redefined as brand infrastructure: places where heritage, community and customer experience intersect. This session will explore how the Freeport Experience – the multi-year reimagining of L.L.Bean’s iconic Freeport Flagship – is designed not simply as a remodel, but as a campus-scale, customer-centric journey that honors legacy while building relevance for the future. Drawing inspiration from hospitality and placemaking, the session will also examine how outdoor space, food, events and community interfaces can transform a flagship from a “big store” into a destination. Attend this presentation to discover how to protect customer trust and brand experience during disruption.

Takeaways:

• Understand how flagships are sequenced customer journeys, not a collection of departments

• Learn ways to translate heritage into modern, experiential storytelling

• Discover strategies for using placemaking and hospitality principles to expand relevance