… as Adesokan calls for leadership beyond titles
A former senior maritime and logistics executive, Mrs. Funmilayo Loremikan, has challenged retired professionals to reinvent themselves and continue contributing to society, saying leadership does not end with retirement but evolves into new forms of influence, mentorship, service and legacy.
Loremikan, who spent 31 years in maritime and logistics leadership at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), stated this while delivering the keynote address at the 8th Global Leadership Summit & Award 2026 held in Lagos.
This is just as the Convener of the Summit and Publisher of Global Searchlight Magazine, Olori Lola Adesokan, has called for leadership beyond titles.
Speaking on the topic, “Leading Beyond Retirement: Reinventing Leadership, Building Visibility, and Creating Lasting Impact in a Changing World”, Loremikan said retirement should be viewed as a transition from formal employment to purposeful contribution rather than withdrawal from productive activity.
She noted that the traditional concept of retirement was developed for a different era, arguing that longer and more active lives had changed the way society should perceive the post-career period.
According to her, retirees could have another two or three decades of productive capacity, at a time when organisations were grappling with knowledge retention, leadership succession and workforce transformation.
She therefore described the expertise of senior professionals as a strategic asset, urging organisations to deliberately preserve institutional knowledge through mentoring, coaching and structured knowledge-transfer systems.
Loremikan said leadership should not be defined solely by office, title, rank or organisational authority, stressing that influence, service and the ability to develop and empower others remain important dimensions of leadership even after formal employment.
She identified the transition from positional leadership to legacy leadership as critical for professionals approaching or already in retirement.
“Leadership beyond retirement is not a termination. It is a transformation”, she said.
The former NPA executive explained that while positional leadership was largely associated with authority, legacy leadership focused on the impact that continued after a person had left a formal position.
She said retired professionals could deploy their experience and credibility as mentors, coaches, consultants, trainers, board members, advocates, community leaders and thought leaders.
Four-Stage Reinvention
Loremikan proposed a four-stage framework – Reflect, Reposition, Reinvent and Relaunch for professionals seeking to remain relevant beyond retirement.
She said the first stage, Reflect, required individuals to assess their strengths, achievements, values, experiences, expertise and aspirations, including the impact they still wanted to make.
Reposition, she explained, involved moving beyond identification with a former job title and recognising one’s enduring expertise and value.
The third stage, Reinvent, requires the acquisition of new competencies, embrace of technology and adaptation to changing realities.
She described lifelong learning as essential to remaining relevant, noting that continuous learning supports meaningful participation in society.
The final stage, Relaunch, she said, involved actively pursuing new opportunities through entrepreneurship, consulting, coaching, mentoring, board service, writing, public speaking, volunteering and community leadership.
Loremikan also stressed the importance of visibility in the digital age, saying professional expertise alone was no longer enough if it remained unseen.
She clarified that visibility should not be confused with self-promotion but should involve deliberately communicating value, sharing knowledge and participating in professional conversations through industry associations, conferences, writing, public speaking and digital platforms.
According to her, visibility helps to transform expertise into influence, while influence creates opportunities for impact.
Mentorship, Knowledge Transfer
Loremikan identified mentorship and knowledge transfer as among the most important contributions retired professionals could make to their industries and organisations.
She said organisations risk losing institutional memory, professional judgment and practical knowledge when experienced employees retire without adequate succession and knowledge-transfer arrangements.
She consequently called for mentoring, coaching, job shadowing, succession planning and structured knowledge-transfer programmes to ensure continuity.
“The true measure of leadership is not merely what a leader accomplishes personally, but what others are empowered to achieve because of that leader’s influence”, she said.
She further described experienced professionals as an important reservoir of knowledge, expertise and leadership capacity that could contribute to entrepreneurship, education, governance, capacity building, public service reform, community development and institutional strengthening.
Loremikan urged organisations, professional bodies and policymakers to encourage early retirement-transition planning, promote lifelong learning and digital literacy, establish structured mentoring programmes and create opportunities for retirees to serve on advisory boards and development initiatives.
She also advocated stronger personal visibility strategies, intergenerational collaboration and reverse mentoring, stressing that knowledge should flow in both directions between generations.
Summit Theme
Connecting her presentation to the summit’s theme, “Transformative Leadership for Sustainable Growth: Driving Innovation, Institutional Excellence and National Development”, Loremikan said retirement reinvention was central to transformative leadership.
She explained that sustainable growth depended on the transfer of knowledge and experience between generations, while innovation could emerge from new pathways of contribution created by experienced professionals.
She added that institutional excellence required effective succession and capacity building, while national development benefited from the continued engagement of experienced professionals.
Loremikan concluded that retirement should not be seen as the end of leadership but as the beginning of another phase of influence and contribution.
“Leadership does not retire. Leadership evolves,” she declared, urging professionals to embrace retirement as a new beginning marked by relevance, impact and enduring legacy.
Convener Calls for Leadership Beyond Titles
Earlier in her welcome address, Adesokan said the summit was designed to recognise individuals and institutions whose contributions were making a meaningful difference across various sectors.
Adesokan said the theme of the 8th edition reflected the demands of a changing society where leadership should no longer be measured by titles, positions or the size of an office.
According to her, true leadership should be reflected in the lives touched, institutions strengthened, opportunities created and positive change left behind.
She said innovation remained central to sustainable development across business, government, maritime operations, technology, media and other sectors, but stressed that innovation without strong institutions could not deliver lasting progress.
Adesokan called for leaders who could combine creativity with accountability, professionalism with compassion, and ambition with commitment to the greater good.
She also emphasised the importance of people in building institutional excellence, advocating organisations where competence was rewarded, people were valued and young professionals were given opportunities to grow.
She said the summit was not merely about presenting plaques and certificates but also about telling stories of excellence, inspiring participants and reinforcing the importance of responsible leadership.
“To our awardees, I say: your recognition is not only a celebration of what you have achieved, but also an encouragement to do even more”, she said.
Adesokan appreciated the chairman of the occasion, speakers, partners, sponsors, members of the media and others who contributed to the success of the summit.
She expressed particular appreciation to those supporting responsible journalism and purposeful leadership, noting their role in positively influencing society.
She urged participants to use the gathering to build new relationships, exchange fresh ideas and develop lasting partnerships that would contribute to stronger leadership, innovation, institutional development and national progress.