Encore Engagement Trumps Volunteering, Corporate Exec Finds

For much of his life, John Arnold, 64, of San Francisco, earned a good living in corporate America with a resume that includes senior executive status at Seagate, Novartis, and most recently, Pepsi Chicago.

He retired a few years ago, but quickly learned that he wasn't quite ready for a life devoted to leisure. While not aching to get back into the corporate grind, Arnold was looking for something that would fulfill a greater sense of service to his community.

"I decided that my skills were still applicable and my experience would be beneficial and I wanted to identify an area where I might be able to provide some meaningful benefit and at the same time have that recognized in a structured way," he says.

"I had tried volunteering and my experience has been that that was not satisfactory, that you could wind up stuffing envelopes and things of that sort and that is not what I had in mind to try to use my time if I was going to be involved."

Arnold, an MBA, says his professional expertise includes an extensive background in corporate senior level finance and significant hands-on experience with process development and program management work.