How to quit your job as CEO without burning bridges

When many chief executives resign despite joining rival companies, there is never a fallout, at least nothing leaks in public. The seamless handover highlights an unwritten rule in many corporates that employees should learn from. So how do you resign without burning bridges or facing legal tussles?

Grace Nzula, a human resource consultant, says a resignation is about a relationship ending the right way. “A good resignation is one that follows laid out policies,” she says.

For senior managers, this often means serving a notice period, sometimes up to three months. During this period, the person must keep working and support the transition, not check out early.

That is the mistake she sees most employees do. “You start behaving like you are out already,” Ms Nzula, who runs a company called Atarah Solutions says.

“You start missing work. Or come to the office late. You leave early. When asked to join a meeting, you say you’re busy.”

Serving notice diligently sends a message far bigger than simply following a rule. Professionalism during the notice period means that the job mattered and the legacy you leave is something others can build on. “It sends a message that you respect your job and yourself,” she says.

She cites Risper Ohaga, former chief financial officer of EABL, who resigned in February but only left the company in July, five months later, to become APA Apollo chief executive.

Such long handovers, Ms Nzula says, allows the company to train a new team and brief investors properly.

“That is such an amazing transition,” she says. “It means that it is a true sign of leadership because leadership is about creating other leaders.”

A messy handover can hurt a company. She points at scenarios where a departing employee clears out passwords and information from the office computer, leaving the next person stuck. “The organisation can suffer for up to one year,” she says.

She recalls one CEO handover that has stayed with her. The outgoing chief executive prepared a meticulous handover, documenting every outstanding matter the organisation was managing, from donor relationships and finances to regulatory obligations, and even compiled a separate file containing all the passwords needed to ensure a seamless transition.

A handover doesn't have to last three or six months to be effective. Even a short transition can work if a departing staff clearly documents where every project stands and what needs attention.

The goal, she says, is to leave knowing you have shared everything, not to hold back information so former colleagues are forced to keep calling you after you have left.

Do you need to reveal where you are heading to next? “You do not have to tell people that I am resigning because I am going to your competitor,” she says.

“You can simply say you’re pursuing other opportunities, and if pressed further, politely decline to say more.”

Resigning without burning bridges ensure that you can be rehired later or get good referrals. Ms Nzula says she has seen former employees rehired years later, purely because of how they left.

“Skills make it possible for you to be hired,” she says. Nzula recalls one employee whose new job opportunity fell through and who asked to return to a former employer. Because they had left on good terms, they were welcomed back.

But she cautions that rehiring is not always straightforward. Some employers quietly question whether a returning employee is committed to staying or is simply looking for a temporary stop before moving on again.

Another resignation rule is never venting about your former employer online. “If you have anything negative to say about a previous employer, don’t post it,” Ms Nzula says. “The internet doesn’t forget.”

She says the human resources profession in Kenya, and even globally, is surprisingly small and closely connected. A bitter social media post can resurface years later and quietly damage a person's reputation or cost them future job openings.

“If I’m carrying out a background check and I come across social media posts where you've publicly criticised your former employer, saying things like, ‘you guys need to style up, you are unfair, you do this, you do this…’ And the post is trending. You’ve totally burned that bridge.”

Josphat Mutua, an advocate of the High Court, explains why the notice period matters. “A resignation notice does not immediately bring the employment relationship to an end,” he says.

Until the period expires, an employee remains legally bound to keep working diligently, protect confidential information, and avoid any conflict of interest. He notes that the Employment Act, 2007 obligates employees to give the requisite notice before terminating employment, and this duty is even stronger for senior executives, who are expected to hand over responsibly and not use their final days to cause harm.

“A resignation should not become an opportunity to prejudice the employer's business,” he adds.

Some top executives leave with employees, which Mr Mutua says, can cause legal tussles. Right up to departure, an outgoing executive must avoid poaching clients or colleagues for the new employer, and must not leak confidential information across.

“Merely accepting employment with a competitor is not unlawful,” he says. “But problems arise when someone secretly negotiates business for a new employer while still drawing a salary from the old one, or begins recruiting former colleagues before they have even left.”

He adds that confidentiality obligations do not expire simply because someone has resigned.

“Resignation does not extinguish confidentiality obligations,” he says.

A departing worker is free to take their skills, their experience, and their professional knowledge with them, but not the client databases, pricing models, or trade secrets that belong to the former employer.

Where personal data is involved, he adds, both the former employee and any new employer must remain mindful of obligations imposed by the Data Protection Act, 2019, since unauthorised disclosure or misuse of personal data can expose responsible parties to regulatory sanctions and civil liability.

Mr Mutua says some contracts include restrictive covenants, such as non-compete clauses, which try to stop a person from joining a competitor for a set period. He explains that Kenyan courts do not automatically enforce these clauses.

They are only upheld if they are reasonable and genuinely protect something such as trade secrets or client relationships, rather than simply blocking ordinary competition.

Mr Mutua says senior executives carry extra responsibilities during the resignation process, known as fiduciary duties, and that directors additionally owe statutory duties under the Companies Act, 2015.

These require them to keep acting honestly and in the company's best interest right up to their final day, avoiding any conflict between their future plans and the firm’s ongoing deals.

“For example, a departing CEO should not secretly negotiate business opportunities away from the company, recruit key employees for a competing venture while still employed, or transfer valuable corporate information to a future employer,” he says.

Breaking this trust can expose an executive to serious legal claims, even after they have already left.

Employees should read their employment contract carefully, understand what it says about notice, confidentiality, and any restrictions after leaving, then submit a formal written resignation and serve the agreed notice period.

They should cooperate fully with the handover, return all company property, and avoid copying documents, forwarding confidential emails to personal accounts, or deleting company records on the way out.

“Resignation should not be viewed as the end of a relationship but as a professional transition,” Mr Mutua says.

“A well-managed departure minimises legal risk, preserves valuable professional networks and often leaves the door open for future opportunities. In today's interconnected professional environment, one's reputation frequently becomes as valuable as one's legal rights.”

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