“I don’t quite know what to do next,” said Simon, a media CEO. Simon had been a chief executive for 15 years, and CFO before he was 30. He had turned around private and public companies, quadrupled profits and quintupled revenue. But, with his company recently sold, Simon was considering retirement. Like many CEOs, he had had no time to plan his retirement — all his focus had been on running the company.
The CEO’s Guide to Retirement
Don’t just golf — become a mentor.
September 14, 2018
Muhammad Otib/Getty Images
Summary.
Each year, over one hundred CEOs retire from the S&P 1000. Even in the most well-oiled CEO succession processes, one piece is almost always missing: preparing the current CEO for the next phase in his or her career. On average, CEOs step down at age 62, relatively young by today’s standards. Few have to work for living. But almost all want to work, and they do. A look at the post-CEO careers of 50 Chief Executives in the Fortune 500, and interviews with 13 of them, reveal that no one wants to retire to the golf course. Instead, these newly retired CEOs are acting as mentors, finding ways to give back, reconnecting with their partners, and pursuing long-held dreams. A structured approach to semi-retirement makes the transition smoother and more fruitful.