Winning at Reinvention: Mark Chamberlin on Building Legacy and Active Retirement

From “Who’s Who” to “Who’s He?” – Reinventing Yourself After Leaving Your Business

After 40 years in high-tech leadership, Mark Chamberlin found himself at an unexpected crossroads—let go at 61.5 and faced with a big question: What’s next? Instead of chasing another corporate role, he reinvented himself with impact, influence, and freedom.

In this episode, Mark shares:

• The biggest mistakes business leaders make after exiting
• Why your old title won’t open new doors—and what will
• How to leverage your network without looking for a job
• The surprising way sharing knowledge creates new opportunities
• How he redefined success beyond just money

Mark spends his time volunteering for groups that support start up founders, new entrepreneurs and "rising stars" - young adults beginning their searches for their first job.    You may see him in the halls at Chapman University, teaching founders at Octane, or conducting mock interviews for the Boys and Girls Club YES Youth Employment Services.

Listen in for Mark’s insights and actionable strategies to help bridge the transition from "Who's who" to "who's he?"

How Does Fox and Crow Group Help with Building Legacy?

Stepping away from a business—whether through sale, retirement, or transition—can feel like an identity crisis. If you’re struggling with what comes next, Paterson LifePlan can provide clarity and a structured roadmap for your next chapter.

Ian Richardson is certified to walk with transitioning leaders and entrepreneurs through life planning - a strategic plan for your life and legacy.

Learn more about Paterson LifePlan at Fox & Crow Group. Get Started Here ➝

Carrie Richardson and Ian Richardson host the WIN Podcast - What's Important Now?

Serial entrepreneurs, life partners and business partners, they have successfully exited from multiple businesses (IT, call center, real estate, marketing) and they help other business owners create their own versions of success.

Ian is certified in Eagle Center For Leadership Making A Difference, Paterson StratOp, and LifePlan.

Carrie has helped create and execute successful outbound sales strategies for over 1200 technology-focused businesses including MSPs, manufacturers, distributors and SaaS firms.

Learn more at www.foxcrowgroup.com

Book time with Carrie here!

Be a guest on WIN! We host successful entrepreneurs who share advice with other entrepreneurs on how to build, grow or sell a business using examples from their own experience.

Transcript

Winning at Reinvention: Creating Your Legacy with Mark Chamberlin
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[00:00:00] Carrie Richardson: Good afternoon, everybody. My name is Carrie Richardson. I am a partner at Fox and Crow and the host of the Win Podcast. And with me this week is Mark Chamberlin, who is a give back advocate located in Orange County, California. Mark and I first met on LinkedIn. I started following him about a year ago.
 
[00:00:23] And I remember thinking that his posts were always very upbeat . And he had a beautiful garden and a very interesting life. Mark, welcome to win. How are you winning this week? 
 
[00:00:36] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: Carrie, thank you so much for inviting me. This week is going really well. I have a number of different strong activities.
 
[00:00:44] And I think this week is actually pretty representative of there's definitely life after, the initial corporate grind. 
 
[00:00:53] Carrie Richardson: So tell us a little bit about the corporate grind. You are retired now. You mentioned that you have two groups of [00:01:00] people that you work with.
 
[00:01:01] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: You're right. So I spent basically 40 years working for big high tech companies that everybody's heard of. And then
 
[00:01:09] When I was 61 and a half, I was let go from my corporate job. And what I found is this turned out to be a really positive opportunity for me. I was using "business dad" as a model. What I do now is help young adults and people early in their career with coaching, I'm a volunteer for a number of different activities.
 
[00:01:37] And what I found is that one thing leads to another, it's worked out really well. I have an activities based life and it's really based on personal strengths instead of past professional skills. 
 
[00:01:52] Carrie Richardson: I think with with all of the layoffs that are being announced. From tech organizations and the government,
 
[00:01:58] there are going to be a lot of people [00:02:00] who are, as we discussed earlier, in their 2. 0 era. So tell us about what 2. 0 means. 
 
[00:02:09] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: Everybody expects people in their 40s or 50s or 60s to have an idea of what they want to do when they retire.
 
[00:02:18] But for me, that wasn't really the case. I was on a one on a Friday afternoon at the end of the month with my VP. And son of a gun, HR was on the call. So that's not necessarily a good thing. I was let go and I was bummed for about a day.
 
[00:02:38] And one of my friends said, Mark, what you really need to do is not jump back into the game, doing what you've done for a long time for less money, really think what would you enjoy doing because you have a lot of skills. I realized, I've done all these global things, I travel a lot like you, Carrie, and I [00:03:00] didn't really have that many friends here
 
[00:03:02] in Orange County. 
 
[00:03:03] So I googled nonprofits that are based in Orange County and reached out to an organization that was called Youth Employment Service. They worked with high school students and community college students helping them get first part time jobs. They needed volunteers to do mock interviews and help them with resumes.
 
[00:03:29] So being proactive I called the executive director. I said who I was, that I've hired a lot of young people. I interviewed a lot of young people. I would be happy to volunteer and help if they would be interested. And that's really how it all started. 
 
[00:03:47] Carrie Richardson: I volunteer for them in Michigan.
 
[00:03:49] Yes, probably how we ended up in the same LinkedIn circle doing mock interviews. 
 
[00:03:55] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: You're absolutely right, Carrie. And so what I found is [00:04:00] that young adults are so appreciative and I spent so much of my career dealing with really smart people who often had very challenging personalities.
 
[00:04:10] And what I really wanted to do was just help people based on my personal strengths. So meeting with high school seniors and community college students about first part time jobs, I was able to share what my first part time jobs were and how just having a job Rather than perhaps having a coach working in sports or things like that really benefited you because you could look back and share those experiences when you interview for a career job and I really enjoyed it.
 
[00:04:44] I met other volunteers. Some of the volunteers were board members and I thought gosh. I'm enjoying this so much I should join the board, which kind of brought me back into my more executive level expertise, [00:05:00] and I like to directors. So what I found was just by reaching out and offering to help led to more opportunities and that continued to grow my 2. 0 into something interesting and it kept me out of the house. 
 
[00:05:18] Carrie Richardson: I'm sure your wife was grateful. 
 
[00:05:21] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: Yes. 
 
[00:05:23] Carrie Richardson: We've been talking online for a couple of years and I feel like I watched your dance card fill up in real time online, is there anybody in Orange County who doesn't know your name now?
 
[00:05:34] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: It's funny you say that because I almost always get recognized when I go to Chapman University. I do a lot with them and both of my daughters went to Chapman and I get recognized like having coffee in Laguna beach and even walking on the beach. I saw somebody with a sweatshirt of a college that I do work with and the person just looked at me [00:06:00] and then we started talking. 
 
[00:06:02] I've enjoyed the public aspect of being involved. And when I first started posting, I walked along the beach a lot and I would do conference calls from different locations and, multitasking, especially if I'm on a conference call where I'm not really talking a lot, I'm mostly listening.
 
[00:06:26] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: Part of my get up and go was to go to a fun place and just experience it and get out and get going, rather than sitting here in my home office. So you remember a lot of my posts where you would see me walking at the beach or walking up in the mountains, or taking advantage of places that still had good Wi Fi. 
 
[00:06:47] You can be active, you can still do fun things, you can be involved proactively with professional types of activities, but you don't have to be sitting at your desk. And [00:07:00] that's what got me started. 
 
[00:07:02] Carrie Richardson: So what advice would you have for somebody who is being released back to industry in an unexpected fashion later in life.
 
[00:07:15] I barely knew what I wanted to do when I was 40. And I feel like in my fifties, I'm just hitting my stride. I'm not sure what I would do if tomorrow all of a sudden somebody said Oh, no, I'm sorry. The ride's over now.
 
[00:07:28] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: I definitely have advice on that. Don't just get on LinkedIn and think of LinkedIn as filling it out so that if a recruiter reaches out to you, you have all the information down.
 
[00:07:40] Because what I found once I turned 50. Although I did get one job from a professional recruiter, almost all of the opportunities really came through networking from people that I know. And instead of trying to get another job, [00:08:00] applying through a website where nobody really knows you, when somebody does, that makes all the difference in the world.
 
[00:08:07] And the difference is if you go on to LinkedIn and you post a video. And people can see that you have energy, that you're proactive, that you're doing things. And this includes introverts. The world still sees that you are an interesting, motivated individual and that you haven't just maybe done one job your whole life.
 
[00:08:33] And if you have done one job, that doesn't mean that you can't do new things. But the key is. Don't just click like on what your marketing department posts show that you're an individual. I didn't know that I wasn't going to get back into the professional game What I did was I started doing more of these lifestyle with professional thoughts posts And [00:09:00] son of a gun all these people that I knew started reaching out to me and saying Mark, would you like to get back into the game with us?
 
[00:09:08] So just because people can see that I was still motivated, trying to make things happen, that is really the life skill. If you are let go or something happens that's beyond your control Those types of things happen to a lot of people and if you can flip that switch and not spend your time talking about how "you didn't do anything wrong -You were let go and" people don't really want to hear that, people want to hear This is where I am.
 
[00:09:43] This is what I can do for you. I have lots of energy ahead And you just end up doing pivots and that's what kind of brings out the most in you. 
 
 
[00:09:53] Carrie Richardson: But I've found that for me, being authentic on LinkedIn has been really great [00:10:00] marketing. And I don't just post about business. My husband and I drive around in our van. I love seeing your pictures from vacations. I love seeing pictures in your garden. And I like the posts that go along with them because they're always upbeat and encouraging.
 
[00:10:13] And you didn't spend a lot of time wallowing in self pity when you were released back to industry, just decided to be the guy that was going to deliver positive messages online and the world needs more of it. And I, for one, I'm here for it. 
 
[00:10:30] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: Thank you, Carrie.
 
[00:10:30] Most of my messages really are to inspire people in their twenties and thirties. And some of this happened when I did all this work with Youth employment service, and both my daughters went to Chapman and I thought I should reach out to Chapman's Career Center because you have a lot of students who might wanna get jobs in high tech.
 
[00:10:54] And I've worked with a lot of STEM and I reached out to Chapman's [00:11:00] Career Center and basically gave them the same pitch. I come from high tech. I would be happy to work with your students. Would you be interested ? And again, the same thing. Nonprofit. Lots of people think that nonprofits get inundated with calls.
 
[00:11:15] Can I help? And that's just not true at all. So they are so happy when somebody like you or somebody like me reaches out and offers to help that they said yes. So I went out and I was so impressed with how these college students want to learn, want to hear. Wrote thank you notes, I was booked every time I went out there And then what that did Carrie, is that led to more things That I didn't even know that I would do and this is why You don't really have to have a plan if you have some energy and you're proactive so so I did that [00:12:00] and The students liked working with me. 
 
[00:12:03] One of the people who's in charge of young alumni reached out to me and said, Mark, would you be interested in doing a webcast on negotiation skills? We have a lot of young alumni who are 20s and 30s. And I said absolutely. I'd be happy to do that. So when I did this pivot from interviewing to speaking, I thought about my daughters.
 
[00:12:31] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: And at the time they were, mid to late twenties, early thirties. So I really focused on the types of information that my daughters would ask about and their friends, this business dad thing. So just by saying yes, And doing it and then doing the research and kind of applying stories of my negotiations on what would be relevant for this age group.[00:13:00] 
 
[00:13:00] That then led to more things. So, just having a blast. 
 
[00:13:06] Carrie Richardson: Not everybody has a business dad. My family was blue collar. We didn't talk about money. I was probably like 3, 4 jobs in before I realized that when somebody offered you a salary in a job interview that you could counter and ask for more money.
 
[00:13:21] I didn't know that. And so having somebody that can teach you that skill when you don't necessarily have that kind of support at home is super important. It's nice to hear that there are people who are giving of their time to make sure that everybody has that skill.
 
[00:13:40] Where did you go to college? 
 
[00:13:41] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: I went to UC Santa Barbara and I double majored in business economics and communications.
 
[00:13:50] I thought I wanted to do was get into the business side of the entertainment industry. And what I found when I [00:14:00] graduated is all those jobs were gopher jobs. They didn't really pay very well. And I did have one friend that went to work for the William Morris company and was basically. An administrative assistant and she ended up doing really well.
 
[00:14:17] But what I found was that wasn't really going to be my calling when I graduated from college. I was really tired of being poor and I didn't want to accept a job that wasn't going to really pay me. So I decided to get into high tech marketing. And the irony is fast forward many years, I'm working for these big tech companies and my clients are disney and Warner Brothers and big entertainment. It may have taken me 20 years, but I did end up working with the entertainment industry. And I found that my temperament was really better working for high tech .
 
[00:14:58] Did somebody bring you [00:15:00] coffee? 
 
[00:15:00] It's funny how you say that because there's a lot of traditional industries that still are very traditional. And what I found going into high tech was. I learned to deal with pivots and changes all the time. Made a joke on how these things are going on with government right now.
 
[00:15:25] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: It just reminds me of how things would go with high tech, where something would happen, or there would be a new boss, and all these people would be let go, and you'd make this huge change to a different direction. If you come from high tech, some of these things don't catch you by surprise. So My wife actually said the same thing.
 
[00:15:48] My wife is an artist. She also went to UC Santa Barbara, and then she went to art school in Pasadena at a school called Art Center College of Design. [00:16:00] And what she found working for ad agencies as a creative director is same thing what happened. It was almost like Mad Men where You could work for an ad agency and then all of a sudden your largest client would leave.
 
[00:16:15] Nobody did anything wrong, but then half the creative staff would get let go. So what happens is in certain professions, you learn to have to pivot. You don't necessarily want to have second gigs as a constant lifestyle. But what I found in high tech, no matter what age I was, I had to be prepared for something that was beyond my control.
 
[00:16:43] And I just became mentally prepared for that. So I became a go getter. I learned how to deal with people, as I said, that had challenging personalities. They're all smart. And I learned to focus on my [00:17:00] savvy. And my ability to make things happen and my ability to reach the goal using kind of unique ideas and empowering other people rather than thinking I was going to do it all on my own.
 
[00:17:15] And. I guess what I found, especially when I became older, is that I couldn't learn at all. Technology changes so fast that I need to have friends and people that I work with that are really experts in these things, and then I step back. And that's when I really learned the difference between management and leadership.
 
[00:17:38] If I could empower you, Carrie, through your skills to want to work with me, So that our high performance team could make things happen, that's really where I became much more successful than detail managing, just doing the same things, really trying to empower people to do what I was good [00:18:00] at instead, carry there's so many things that you're good at if you and I were partners.
 
[00:18:06] That's really where the success comes from. So that's more of the message that I try to share. And one of the things that I've done is I've gotten involved with an organization called Octane OC and they're an accelerator program for high tech startups and then they also have a non profit side and one of the things that I love is I do this stuff.
 
[00:18:33] They invited me to become their leadership SMA and they have these different cohorts to go through and I bring up different aspects of leadership and what I do is I think back on what I used to do in high tech and then I really fit it for the cohort and Now, leadership is more of one of my topics, whereas I didn't use to talk about leadership, but I [00:19:00] learned what I would do, what I wouldn't want to do, and then how I now in my age, I don't want to be managed.
 
[00:19:08] Carrie Richardson: I want to be led. I want to work in a leadership environment, and that's how organizations get the most out of me. 
 
[00:19:16] I'll look forward to hearing about the next chapter, 3. 0. 
 
[00:19:21] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: You're right. 
 
[00:19:23] Carrie Richardson: And are you laying the foundation for something new and interesting now?
 
[00:19:26] You're working with Chapman University, you're working with Octane, it sounds like you've got some mentor mentee relationships that are thriving. 
 
[00:19:38] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: I like variety. I don't like to be managed. What I enjoy so much about my life right now is let's just say I have five, six, seven things that I do, and that includes volunteering to do specific tasks that I enjoy. I really like being an executive coach [00:20:00] for nonprofit leaders because that keeps me very relevant with the types of things that I used to do because they appreciate my professional process skills.
 
[00:20:12] I've talked about being involved with colleges and now I'm also involved with UC Irvine and even though I don't have a PhD or an MBA, have a lot of experience, and they've invited me to be a keynote speaker to postdocs. So what's happened is, because I'm getting out there, I'm being asked to do more public speaking.
 
[00:20:36] And it started as a guest lecturer, and then a featured speaker, and now I'm speaking to bigger audiences. So that's my stretch for me, because I'm not I've talked in front of conference rooms with a lot of people .
 
[00:20:52] One thing that keeps coming up is "Mark, why don't you monetize these gigs?" if I do things for free, [00:21:00] I can take myself out of anything, anytime if I don't like it. And the other thing is, I really don't like when people don't pay me.
 
[00:21:13] My wife, when she left the ad agency and became an entrepreneur as a freelance graphic designer. It was so hard for her to get paid and people would string her out and I don't want to get involved with that aspect of it.
 
[00:21:32] I do what I want and I feel as if I honestly get paid through self actualization. I don't make the kind of money that I used to make.
 
[00:21:41] I don't have the expenses that I used to have. 
 
[00:21:44] So I can say yes to things. But the other thing, which is so important to me now is. I know what I'm not good at. I know what I don't have the patience for. So I don't have to do those things. And if I start liking something and it [00:22:00] pivots the wrong way, I can take myself out of it and I can be upfront with people and I can say, you know what?
 
[00:22:06] I had fun for a while, but I don't really like where this is going. I don't really want to be micromanaged by somebody that knows less than I do. You can take it from here. So now that I'm a volunteer or a give back advocate, I can be really straight with people. And not everybody's used to that, but I enjoy that freedom.
 
[00:22:28] So that's one of the things that you find when you get involved with new activities. ? 
 
[00:22:33] Carrie Richardson: Business would be great if it wasn't for those employees and those clients.
 
[00:22:40] I don't know what my what my 2. 0 plan will be. I'm not quite there yet. 
 
[00:22:47] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: One of the things that I really love about what you and your husband do is you look out for each other. You build on each other .
 
[00:22:55] I've been married a long time and my wife is really smart and she [00:23:00] sees things in people that I don't see. And an example would be, I worked with a lot of really tough people. And my wife would say over time, gosh you should leave this company. You're working with a lot of people that just really aren't very nice .
 
[00:23:20] She would see characteristics in people that I didn't see because I was so used to being effective working with almost anybody. I glossed over things because it was about my effectiveness and my maximizing the amount of money I made. When you step back and you're in a different environment and you have a wife that's really looking to support you and be your biggest advocate, just like you and your husband are huge advocates for each other, I really respect that.
 
[00:23:51] And I think a lot of people can step into an environment where you really look at who are your most important [00:24:00] partners. And I get a lot of support from my daughters. And one of the things when you're not working for a company, like when you're working for yourself right now is where's your accountability come from?
 
[00:24:16] One of the things that I do is I post or I share things with my daughters. And in a sense, that's my accountability. If I tell my daughters or my wife, or if I post something on LinkedIn, I really have to do it now. That's part of my motivation to keep things going in a positive way.
 
[00:24:32] Carrie Richardson: You're an inspiration to the people around you, Mark. I know I always feel better when I see something that you've posted online with your smiling face. And I'm glad that we've had the opportunity to get to know each other a little bit over the last year. And I thank you very much for coming and sharing your viewpoint on WIN.
 
[00:24:50] I'm grateful for your friendship and I'm grateful for your appearance here today. Thank you. 
 
[00:24:57] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: Carrie, thank you so much. I feel like we are in [00:25:00] sync. 
 
[00:25:01] Carrie Richardson: Have a great rest of the day and make sure you practice that keynote speech.
 
[00:25:06] Mark Chamberlin - Give Back Advocate: Okay. Bye bye.