When Bill Hartl retired from Ashland Inc, the petroleum products giant, the question wasn’t really how to relax, but where to work next.
After 26 years in Ashland, Kentucky, Hartl – and especially his wife – wanted to go someplace new. ‘Ashland was a tiny town, there really was no reason to stay there. The question was where to go,’ he says today. ‘I knew that after 30-some years in IR, I could use that experience to do something else. ‘
Hartl took nine months to sell his home and tie up all the loose ends before moving to Manhattan, where he is now ‘extremely happy’ as a partner with Dilenschneider Group, advising a variety of dot-coms, Fortune 500 companies and other clients on their communication strategies. The urban east coast, he says ‘is my natural home base. And it pleased my wife no end.’
But what about a traditional retirement – a leisurely life of sunshine, long lunches, golf lessons and maybe some volunteer work? ‘It took me about a minute and a half to decide,’ says Hartl with a chuckle. ‘I just wasn’t ready to hang up my spurs, even at 63.’
For many corporate investor relations practitioners, retirement isn’t so much the end of a career but an opportunity to start a new life. It’s a good excuse to change course, take chances, relocate to a new environment or try running their own businesses. An unprecedented economic boom means there is a high demand for seasoned investor relations professionals who are still intrigued by the issues of corporate communications and accountability. And of course the extra salary on top of a pension doesn’t hurt.
Appealing package
IROs who leave the corporate structure for consultancies – the most common move – say they can opt to take on projects that interest them and generally work fewer and more flexible hours than before. Larry Bishop says he could work round-the-clock when he was the vice president for investor relations and communications for Boeing. But he wanted to spend more time with his family, pursue new leisure interests and do some charity work. And Boeing’s early retirement package was very appealing.
After a few months spent regrouping, Bishop joined Colorado-based Genesis Inc, a firm that specializes in branding, corporate positioning and developing communications strategies for clients that range from Steelcase to Parker Hannifin Corp. Not only is Bishop working with longtime friends from different IR backgrounds, but he has relocated from Seattle to southern California – near his grandchildren.
‘When I first started at Genesis, my wife complained that this was starting to look like a full-time job,’ he said. ‘But after Boeing, having weekends off feels like going part-time.’ In the biggest companies, he says, ‘IR can be a 24-7 job.’ But he notes that consultancies aren’t exactly a predictable picnic either. ‘The needs of your clients dictate your schedule. I’m working fewer hours these days, but I probably don’t have that much control over my schedule.’
For Mike Cooling, leaving Reuters after 30 years as a reporter, financial editor and, ultimately, head of corporate relations wasn’t a difficult decision. ‘I felt I was entitled to some leisure time,’ he says. He spent six months indulging in all the things he enjoys most – art exhibits, traveling with his wife, playing a few rounds of golf.
When he had enough of the life of leisure, he joined Grandfield, a corporate communications consultancy based in the City of London. But only for two days a week. The rest of the time he spends researching a book he’s writing on the US Civil War, volunteering for various investor relations societies, and pursuing other interests.
Need vs desire
Talk to a variety of IR professionals who have chosen some form of work instead of a traditional retirement, and several themes emerge. Because most of these people are working out of desire – and not need – they can pick and choose their new jobs on the basis of who they want to work with, where they want to be, and how they want to live.
Many, like Bill Hartl, hang out their own shingle for a while to test the waters and tidy up their affairs. Longtime executives in a variety of fields say this is a gentle step in the right direction, allowing them to make contacts, set up offices and survey the landscape for clients, business opportunities and, perhaps most importantly, their own desires.
In all cases, according to IR experts, the trick to finding fulfilling work into your retirement is not to leave it to the last minute. Like so many other things, a little planning goes a long way. As does a little visibility and a lot of time spent networking, which should come naturally.
‘The important thing is to make friends with people over the years – business contacts. You’ve got to keep those contacts going,’ urges Cooling. ‘Maybe continue to play golf with them, meet for lunch, keep striking up new relationships with new contacts.’
Kicking around
Another way to keep expanding your contacts is to stay active in various business or professional organizations. This keeps your name out there, builds credibility, and enables you to get to know people in other regions and other related fields.
‘I’ve been kicking around the IR craft for a long time, and I really have a passion for it, ‘ declares Bishop. ‘I wasn’t really hunting for work. For me the objective was to hook up with friends and work on some fun projects.’ He believes that when you’ve been active and visible in a profession for a long time, finding jobs becomes easy. ‘In my experience, people will come to you,’ he says.
Bishop says his easy transition to consulting for Genesis was in part because he had long known the principals. But he also notes that a good deal of planning beforehand made the whole decision much easier. ‘Most people don’t give it a lot of consideratrion until retirement is imminent. Eventually you want to slow down a little bit, but you should have some idea of how you want to do that before you get there.’
Bill Hartl says you can never start planning too soon. He notes that those who are retiring from a job generally have a lot more flexibility than they did when starting out or even at mid-career. Just like financial planning, these post-career executives say, the earlier you start, the better the results.
His high degree of visibility – among analysts, institutional investors, and among other IROs as the past head of various IR associations – is definitely a good calling card. He says today that he didn’t so much search for work as respond to suitors.
But Hartl also knew that he wanted to remain in the investor relations field. For others, retirement offers a chance to explore completely new career paths. ‘I would advise anybody who is about to retire to think about what it is you really want to do. And don’t be afraid to turn that on its head,’ says Cooling, who counsels maximum flexibility. ‘Be prepared to switch tracks if it’s what you want to do.’
Opportunity knocks
Although the business pages are filled with second-careerists who abandon corporate life for artisanal bread-making, computer retailing or designing infant couture, there are a surprising number of opportunities within investor relations itself.
What is interesting is how many of these ‘retired’ executives – the ones with backgrounds in traditional industry, manufacturing and bricks-and-mortar business – are in demand among dot-com start-ups, high-tech firms and e-commerce companies. ‘Old economy or new economy, we can help them understand the essence of their business and product,’ says Bishop.
‘The internet has created demand for all sorts of talent,’ echoes Cooling. ‘Look at the development we’ve seen in markets. E-commerce is a lively scene; it’s resulting in dramatic shifts that are more about knowledge management and intellectual resources than the brawn of old-style capitalism. There will always be a demand for people with knowledge and experience,’ he avers.
Hartl notes, somewhat ominously, that a lot of the bright young entrepreneurs lack some crucial on-the-job learning. ‘I suspect a lot of these people have never been through a downturn,’ he says. ‘You want to be aware of what’s going on in the world today, but this gray hair shows I’ve been around.’
The most important factor, according to many IR professionals who have successfully moved on to modified retirement, is to remember that you’re working only because you want to, not because you have to. Or, at least remember that you don’t have to work so hard anymore.
‘First you have to acclimatize to the fact that you don’t have to work full-time,’ says Mike Cooling. ‘Most of us want to live long and healthy lives, and you can’t do that if you’re under a lot of stress. The key is make sure you enjoy your retirement.’
