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Golden handshake – deferred A trio of profound shifts in the A/E/P industry has made it much more difficult for firm owners to retire.
A s I enter my mid-50s (never thought it would happen) I have become privy to many private conversations from my age-related peers at A/E firms around the subject of retirement. Many guys my age thought that by the time they had been working for 25 years or more in their architecture or engineering firms that they would be in a great position to retire in the near future.
June Jewell
leaders to come forth and get a piece of the action – but where are they? The other big topic that seems to be confusing and concerning today’s leaders is the lack of interest of the younger generations in purchasing ownership shares. While there used to be some prestige and pride in ownership years ago, today’s 40 and under technical staff are not as interested in taking risk, investing, and joining firms where there could be a long wait to get to a significant leadership role. These conditions have led to three primary issues “The exit that many leaders thought would take place in their mid- to late- 50s is now getting delayed to 65 and older.”
They are now discovering that this great dream of retiring in a warm location after the kids graduate from college is not going to be as easy as they thought. The rise to the top has not proven to deliver the golden handshake they thought they had earned by now. Because of tough economic realities and the lack of resources to take over their roles, the long awaited retirement plans are going to require much more planning, effort, and financial consequences. In looking at the current state of the A/E industry, it is easy to see the aging of A/E firm principals. I attend many industry conferences each year, and the primary topics of conversation are around mergers and acquisitions, transition planning, and preparing emerging leaders. The exit that many leaders thought would take place in their mid- to late-50s is now getting delayed to 65 and older. This harsh reality is affecting the industry in many ways and paving the way for ambitious younger
See JUNE JEWELL, page 8
THE ZWEIG LETTER October 24, 2016, ISSUE 1173
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