A new article published in Personnel Review provides unprecedented insights into how CEOs of public companies psychologically adapt to retirement, revealing a complex web of identity reformation processes that occur when top executives step down from their roles.

The research, conducted by Mark Lamberti and Charlene Lew from the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria, is based on in-depth interviews with 17 retired CEOs — each selected from 400 companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange — and uncovers six critical, interconnected processes that shape how senior executives rebuild their identities after retirement.

"Our findings show that CEOs experience a profound void upon retirement that goes beyond the loss of position — it challenges their fundamental sense of self," said Lamberti, the study’s co-author, who retired after a 33-year career as CEO of four multinational public companies. “The transition demands a complete reformation of identity, involving complex psychological and social processes that haven't been fully understood until now.”

Key findings from the research reveal:

— CEOs undergo two distinct phases in retirement: a "liminal" period marked by uncertainty and self-doubt, followed by an "emergence" phase where new identities are formed.

— The study identified that CEOs experience six interconnected processes, including epiphanies, role identity cues, evaluation of resources, sensemaking, narrative construction, and identity enactment.

— Organizations must better prepare their senior executives for retirement transitions by addressing these six processes.

"This study provides organizations and human resource specialists with a framework to guide retiring senior executives through the psychological effects, cognitive processes, and practical considerations of the retirement transition," added co-author Lew.