NACD New England Honors Citizens Financial, L.L. Bean as Public and Private Company Boards of the Year

The National Association of Corporate Directors New England Chapter (NACDNE) today announced that the boards of Citizens Financial Group and L.L. Bean are being awarded NACDNE's 2023 top public and private company honors at NACDNE's annual "Director of the Year" gala on April 25, 2023.

NACDNE also announced the 2023 winners of its three awards for exceptional corporate service by individuals:

• Lifetime Achievement Award: Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, an Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, member of MIT's Department of Biology and the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and co-founder of Biogen and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. who received the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and also serves on multiple life sciences boards and venture-capital advisory boards, including Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Vir Biotechnology, and the Broad Institute.
• Leadership in Corporate Governance Award: Phyllis Yale, Advisory Partner and former Boston Managing Partner for Bain & Co., former chair of the boards of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Kindred Healthcare, Inc (NYSE: KND) and a current member of the boards of Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), BCBSMA, DaVita Healthcare (NYSE: DVA), and Aledade, Inc. and advisory boards for several start-ups, non-profits, and the Harvard Business School Healthcare Initiative.
• Myra H. Kraft Award for Non-Profit Leadership: Micho Spring, former Chief Reputation Officer for Weber Shandwick, past Chair of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, and former Deputy Mayor of Boston, who as a government, civic, and business leader helped found, lead, and advance several non-profits, including the Massachusetts Conference for Women, of which she is Founding Board Member and Treasurer; Friends of Caritas Cubana, a non-profit providing humanitarian services in Cuba, and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, and previously chairing the boards of the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, Massachusetts Women's Forum, and Friends Of Caritas Cubana.

NACDNE Board Chair Beth I. Z. Boland, chair of Foley & Lardner's Securities Enforcement & Litigation Practice, said, "In Rhode Island-based Citizens Financial and Maine-based L.L. Bean, we have two of New England's most impressive examples of companies and their boards of directors continually reinventing venerable institutions to remain innovative, cutting-edge industry leaders at national scale, even amid all the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.''

NACDNE President Cathy Minehan, former Federal Reserve Bank of Boston CEO and Simmons College School of Management dean, added, "NACDNE is delighted to recognize the tremendous legacies of leadership of Phil Sharp, Phyllis Yale, and Micho Spring. It's hard to imagine the Cambridge/Boston life sciences hub we have today without Phil's enormous contributions. Phyllis Yale has been a tireless leader across decades in healthcare and ranks as among the most respected experts on the U.S. healthcare system. And while she is best known for her civic and business leadership, Micho Spring has had major positive impacts in leading and supporting non-profit organizations, in the true spirit of the late Myra Kraft."

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE: CFG), one of the nation's oldest and largest financial institutions, with $224.7 billion in assets as of September 30, 2022, is headquartered in Providence, R.I. Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions through 1,200 branches in 14 states.

Citizens' board, led by chairman and CEO Bruce Van Saun, has executed a successful growth strategy since becoming an independent public company in 2014. It most recently added 80 HSBC branches in the eastern U.S. and the 154-branch Investors Bank, immediately placing it among the 10 largest banks by deposits in metropolitan New York and adding 1 million retail and business customers even as it continued to prioritize innovative next-generation technology, personalized services, and customer service.

L.L. Bean, the privately held, iconic outdoor retailer founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean, has in recent years continued to evolve the governance of its family-led company with the addition of independent directors, aligning the company's vision and goals to further support and amplify the organization's purpose, as well as adding diverse perspectives and experiences to help inform the management of the business. L.L. Bean has also continued to follow and evolve its 60-year-old Stakeholder Philosophy which ensures success is not based on profit, but instead the well-being of the company's stakeholders including: customers, employees, the community, vendors, and the natural environment.

The awards will be formally presented at a gala celebration to be held on Tuesday evening, April 25, 2023, at the Seaport Hotel in Boston.

In addition to its Director of the Year honors, through local world-class programs, the NACD New England Chapter (NACDNE) addresses issues that are top of mind for directors, delivering insight through monthly breakfast forums, thought leadership events, webinars, the Private Company Director mini-series, the Distinguished Speaker series, and two full-day director training programs. NACD members in the New England area, along with their guests, are encouraged to join NACDNE to network with director peers in an interactive setting.

ABOUT NACD NEW ENGLAND

The NACD New England Chapter is part of the premier membership organization for board directors who want to expand their knowledge, grow their network, and maximize their potential. As the unmatched authority in corporate governance, NACD sets the standards of excellence through its research and community-driven director education, programming, and publications. Directors trust NACD to arm them with the relevant insights to make high-quality decisions on the most pressing and strategic issues facing their businesses today. NACD also prepares leaders to meet tomorrow's biggest challenges. The NACD Directorship Certification® is the leading director credential in the United States. It sets a new standard for director education, positions directors to meet boardroom challenges, and includes an ongoing education requirement that prepares directors for what is next. With an ever-expanding community of more than 23,000 members and a nationwide chapter network, our impact is both local and global. NACD members are driven by a common purpose: to be trusted catalysts of economic opportunity and positive change?in business and in the communities we serve. To learn more about NACD, visit www.nacdonline.org.