When it comes to retirement, many finance executives are walkingaway from the corporate world years earlier than their father'sgeneration. In just the last month, three fiftysomething CFOs haveannounced their retirements. Google Inc.'s George Reyes, 53, isleaving at the end of the year; Kraft Foods Inc.'s James Dollive,56, is departing Sept. 30; and Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.'sRobert A. Rosholt, 56, is leaving next year.

“Retire” is the operative word. None of the three said they were“stepping down” or “resigning” or “moving to explore otheropportunities.” They were, they made clear, “retiring”–or, asWebster defines the word–withdrawing from business. That doesn'tmean that one or more won't come out of the shadows to take anothercrack at a challenging job in the business world, but headhuntersand consultants expect many options-rich executives to slide intoquieter and, perhaps, more socially fulfilling lives.

“I've seen examples of executives at fairly senior levels takethe opportunity to switch gears and find other opportunities thatmay be more rewarding,” says Allen A. Geller, managing director atexecutive search firm Raines International Inc. “The market hasbeen good up to this point, making them wealthy,” he notes. (Reyes,for example, will retire with options valued at more than $23.5million.) “At the same time, regulations are increasing and addingto their headaches,” Geller notes. “So they think, 'Why not findsomething more fulfilling?'”

Some are doing just that. Take Mathew McKenna, for example. The57-year-old senior vice president of finance for PepsiCo Inc.announced Aug. 29 that he would retire at the end of the year–andmove from the very profitable PepsiCo Inc. to the nonprofit KeepAmerica Beautiful, the country's largest volunteer-basedorganization dedicated to improving the environment. Although hecan retire under PepsiCo's deferred compensation program, McKennasays he wants to remain in a leadership role. So, he enthuses, he“jumped” at the chance to be president and CEO of the nonprofit. “Ihope my experiences in stewarding PepsiCo's financial growth willaid Keep America Beautiful efforts in using its broad-basedcommunity alliances to achieve sustainable communityimprovements.”