A Retired CEO Finds Starting Over Is Easier With Careful Plans
Michael R. Bonsignore set sail yesterday on the maiden voyage of his 87-foot yacht, fulfilling a fantasy that he dreamt up years before he retired in July 2001.
"People talk about retirement as something that's over," says Mr. Bonsignore, who was forced to step down as chief executive of Honeywell International at age 60 when the diversified manufacturer's sale unraveled. "For me, it was a wonderful new beginning."
Many former corporate leaders struggle to craft fresh lives and fresh careers, especially when they leave in less than a blaze of glory. But Mr. Bonsignore is coping well, largely because he planned ahead and pursued hobbies such as fly fishing, scuba diving and underwater photography during his 31-year Honeywell career. Among other things, he now owns a Seattle gallery specializing in Northwest Coast art, which he has long collected.
We look at five assumptions (health-care costs, longevity, return rates, spending expectations and inflation) people make about retirement that might very well fail to pan out -- to the detriment of even well-to-do retirees. We also invite you to participate in a discussion with a panel of financial-planning experts. Plus, see several steps well-off investors entering retirement should take with their portfolios to help make them last.
Vote: How much do you expect to have saved, in today's dollars, when you retire, not counting the equity in your home?
Some top bosses flunk retirement because they can't accept the loss of clout. Michael H. Jordan found himself bored after he retired from leading CBS in 1998, even though he became a partner of two venture-capital firms and wrote a novel. "Nothing was quite as engaging as being a CEO" and having a chance to make an impact, he recalls. Like a combat commander, "I like to be there when the shells are firing."
In March 2003, the then 66-year-old executive took command of Electronic Data Systems. "There are plenty of shells firing at EDS," he says happily. Mr. Jordan is so focused on running the computer-services concern that he hasn't decided how to spend his next retirement fling.
Former Sprint Chief Executive William Esrey says he had no postretirement plans other than improving his golf swing because "I had expected I would probably work until I was 65." But the telecom carrier ousted him in April 2003, at age 63, for using questionable personal tax shelters; he denied any wrongdoing.
Last fall, Mr. Esrey was named chairman of Japan Telecom, a half-time position he will soon lose because of a takeover. He is unsure what to do next. "I don't want to be a slave to work, but I want to be challenged," he says. At least one-quarter of CEOs make no retirement preparations because they can't face "the haunting specter of no longer being the highest boss," says Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, an associate dean at Yale University's School of Management.
Mr. Bonsignore agrees the timing of his exit "is not one I would have chosen." Nevertheless, he felt prepared. He began a postretirement wish list in 1987 after seeing tremendous anxiety among Honeywell executives taking early retirement. "They had never thought about retirement," he remembers. "It was a real catalyst ... to cultivate the 'inner' man."
High on his wish list: "Build a boat and take her to Alaska and Mexico." He and his wife will live on their three-bedroom, custom-built yacht all summer, sailing to British Columbia from Seattle. They plan to take their boat to Alaska next summer and Mexico in 2006. Before his retirement, they spent about three weeks a year aboard smaller, used vessels.
Mr. Bonsignore physically prepared for retirement by trying to stay fit, which is critical for a solo boat operator and avid outdoorsman. He typically exercised four days a week while leading Honeywell.
In hindsight, he says, "I would have been more diligent about keeping my weight down." A tall man who retains the ramrod posture and polished demeanor of a 1963 Naval Academy graduate, he intensified his workouts and lost 10 pounds once he retired.
Mr. Bonsignore also remains involved in the business world -- but on his terms. He bought the gallery, where he had purchased art for 25 years, because he liked the idea of rubbing shoulders with artists. "I went from managing 125,000 employees to seven," he says, adding that being a small businessman "is very enjoyable."
He also expanded his commitment to Medtronic's board, on which he has served since 1999, by joining its audit committee. He spurns other corporate directorships.
Mr. Bonsignore fosters his love for international travel -- he visited nearly all of the 95 countries where Honeywell operated -- through a dual role at the nonprofit National Geographic Society, which runs commercial ventures through a profit-making unit.
As a member of the society's advisory council, Mr. Bonsignore will accompany researchers photographing prehistoric fish from a minisubmarine in Africa next spring. The team also will study lions and elephants. As a trustee, he intends to help introduce National Geographic's magazine to China.
Mr. Bonsignore's international expertise "is very important to us," says John Fahey, head of National Geographic. At the same time, he adds, Mr. Bonsignore seems "at great peace with himself. He has the balance in his life that he wants."
And a wish list to fulfill, such as getting involved with a relief group. Mr. Bonsignore revises the list regularly. "To live well, we have to reinvent ourselves constantly," he explains. "What a great opportunity retirement is for reinvention!"
CEO退休后都做什么？
麦克尔?邦新格诺(Michael R. Bonsignore)早在2001年7月就退休了。直到昨天，他那艘87英尺的快艇终于要开始首航了，这将实现他退休前就已经梦想了多年的愿望。
“人们谈起退休的时候，总觉得退休好像就是结束”，他说，“而对我来说，退休是美好的新开始”。邦新格诺退休前是霍尼韦尔(Honeywell International)的首席执行长，2001年由于公司的出售计划告吹，他被迫去职。
许多公司的领导人物在去职后总是意图东山再起，开辟新事业，尤其是那些没有在掌声中谢幕的人更是如此。但邦新格诺不同，他为自己退休后的生活提前就做好了打算，所以一切处理得都很好。他在霍尼韦尔供职的31年间，培养了不少兴趣爱好，比如假蝇钓鱼、深海潜水以及水下摄影等。他在西雅图还有一个艺术画廊，里面有他多年来专门收集的西北海岸(Northwest Coast)艺术品。
一些大人物无法适应退休的生活，主要原因是他们接受不了自己失去影响力的事实。哥伦比亚广播公司(CBS)前董事长麦克?乔丹(Michael H. Jordan)在1998年退休后担任了两家风险投资公司的合伙人，还写了一本小说，但尽管如此，他还是觉得退休以后的生活很烦闷。“当CEO是最吸引人的工作”，让你有机会施展自己的影响，他回忆说，就像战斗指挥官那样，“当枪声响起的时候，我希望自己能在战场上”。
2003年3月，66岁的他成为电子资讯系统(Electronic Data Systems)的首席执行长。他高兴地说，我又投身战场了。乔丹目前一心一意地考虑如何经营这家电脑服务公司，以致于他还没有想好怎样度过自己退休后的生活。
斯普林特(Sprint)前任首席执行长威廉?埃斯瑞(William Esrey)说，除了继续提高自己的高尔夫球技之外，他以前没有为自己的退休生活做其他打算。“我原本以为自己可以干到65岁”。但2003年4月，在他63岁的时候，斯普林特将他解雇了，原因是他曾经使用了不正当的避税手段。但埃斯瑞否认自己有过此类行为。
去年秋季，埃斯瑞被任命为日本电信(Japan Telecom)的董事长，这不是一份全职的工作。但很快由于日本电信将被收购，他也失去了这份工作。他不知道自己以后还能做些什么。“我不想当工作狂，但我喜欢应对挑战”，他说。至少有四分之一的CEO没有做好退休的准备，他们不能接受自己不再是最高领导的现实，这种恐惧总困扰他们”，耶鲁大学(Yale University)管理学院副主任杰弗雷?索尼恩菲尔德(Jeffrey Sonnenfeld)说。
邦新格诺也说自己退休的时机并不是他所希望选择的。但不管怎样，他自己还是有些准备的。当他看到许多霍尼韦尔高层管理人员对提早退休表现出的巨大焦虑后，他在1987年为自己列出了想在退休后做的所有事情。“他们从来没有为退休好好想想”，他回忆说。“这是一个真正有助于提高自己的催化剂”。
他最想做的事情是：造一只游艇，然后畅游阿拉斯加和墨西哥湾。船上有专门设计的三居室，可以让他和妻子在船上度过整个夏天，一直从西雅图畅游到英属哥伦比亚。明年夏天他们打算去阿拉斯加，2006年夏天再去墨西哥湾。在他退休以前，他们曾经在一个小一些的二手游艇上住了三个星期。
邦新格诺还在加强体格上为退休积极做准备，他十分注意自己的健康。这对于单独驾驶游艇并时常进行户外活动的人很重要。在霍尼韦尔上班时，他每周要锻炼四天。
现在想想，他说，“要是我当时能把体重减下来就更好了”。退休后，他更是加紧锻炼，体重少了十磅。
邦新格诺还是会进行一些自己所谓的商务活动。他喜欢会会艺术家，于是他买下了自己光顾了25年的画廊。“我原来管理著125,000人，现在只有7个人”，但他说，做一个小商人很有趣。
他还继续担任Medtronic公司的董事。这个职位他从1999年就开始干了，他是该公司审计委员会的成员。除此之外，他拒绝担任其他任何公司的董事。
邦新格诺还是美国国家地理协会(National Geographic Society)的顾问兼理事，这也培养了他周游世界的爱好。霍尼韦尔在世界95个国家有业务，这些国家他几乎都去过了。
作为美国国家地理协会的一位顾问，邦新格诺明年春天将和研究员们一起去非洲，他们会在一个微型潜艇中拍摄一些非常古老的鱼类。他们还会研究狮子和大象。他还打算以美国国家地理协会理事的身份，把协会的杂志介绍到中国。
“邦新格诺对世界各国的了解对我们非常重要”，国家地理协会负责人约翰?范希(John Fahey)说。邦新格诺“过著属于他自己的安静生活，他得到了他想要的人生平衡”。
邦新格诺想做的事情还不止这些。他还要参加一个救助组织。他经常调整“我要做的事”清单。“要想活的好，我们就必须不断改造自己的生活”，他解释说。“退休为人们改变自己的生活提供了一个很好的机会！”
