In episode 25 of “Diary of CHRO,” João Ricardo interviews Rita Piçarra. She was the CFO of Microsoft Portugal when she made the bold decision to retire at the age of 44.
She recently authored a book, A vida não pode esperar (or “life can’t wait”). Her message emphasizes that it’s possible to achieve financial security without needing to work until an older age, while still succeeding in both career and personal life.
“I started this journey because both my parents passed away in their fifties; my father was 54, my mom was 59,” she recounts.“I decided, when they passed away, that I wanted something different for my life. I didn’t want to work until age 66 or 67, which is currently the official age of retirement. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to enjoy life because if […] I passed away in my 50s, when would I have time to do all the things that we postponed for the age of retirement?”
She discusses the importance of financial education. “If I ask everyone who is listening to us today if they know how much they’ve spent on food last month, I would tell you 10-15% of the people will have an idea. But this is crazy because we work 40+ hours a week in order to get a salary, and then we don’t dedicate one hour to understanding where the money is going.”
Watch the full episode:
Want more content like this?
If you’re enjoying our content, subscribe to the TechTalents Insights newsletter and get our best articles and interviews delivered directly to your inbox.
