"Why would the stakeholders of Maruti Suzuki jeopardise their interest by allowing me to continue if I don’t bring value to the table?” asks RC Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki. At the age of 88, he retains an advisory role in the country’s biggest carmaker and scoffs at the very idea of retirement. He is also on the board of Dabur and has recently taken a board seat at Escorts Kubota although he has given up board positions outside Delhi to avoid long-distance travel.
While most professionals call it a day in their mid- to late-fifties when the age of superannuation strikes, there is a lengthening list of corporate honchos who refuse to tire or retire in their 60s and work in their 70s and even 80s. After occupying important board positions and leading large organisations for years, they say 58 is not an age to retire.
It is not just about financial benefits, they say. Many admit it is tough to not have a major work commitment to wake up to every morning after years of hectic work schedules, travel and meetings. “We just can’t switch off! How do you pass the day otherwise, having lived an active life?” asks Bhargava, who advises the company on government relations, strategy and policy.
“I did not see retirement as the end of work. It was a moment I moved on from Unilever to other commercial activities. It was also an opportunity to give back to the world,” says Manvinder Singh Banga, 68. The former chairman of HUL is senior partner at the private equity fund Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and chair of UK Government Investments. “I would like to contribute to business and society for as long as possible,” he says.
Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/working-into-the-sunset-indian-honchos-whose-life-motto-seems-to-be-never-tire-never-retire/articleshow/99345551.cms
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