Senior managers face different issues to senior employees. When it comes to distancing themselves from their companies, how do they operate and how do they pass on the baton?

The Philippe Olivier company (sales: €2.6m) is a benchmark in Boulogne, in France and with taste buds around the world. At the age of 58, the new national president of the French creamery and cheese refinery association is handing over the reins to his son Romain, 26. "Today, I'm slowly stepping aside. He manages 50% of the business, and I plan to withdraw 10% a year," comments the cheese maker.

After 34 years in business, the company employs 17 people. On the functional side, father and son have found their place. A graduate of ESC Tours-Poitiers and holder of a double degree

Franco-Quebecer in management and sustainable development Romain Olivier manages "the operational side. I'm more involved in the day-to-day running of the business, while my father takes care of training, research into new products, contacts with producers, external communications...". Sharing the same passion and ethical orientations, the duo confide that they "always arrive at the same result", even if they take different paths.

A return to business for the retired manager Daniel Osseland's return to business at Norlit (sales: €12m), a major coastal construction company, was not expected. After joining the Rabot Dutilleul group in 2001, the manager had wanted to step back and work in parallel with his successor. "It didn't go well. I sounded the alarm. I couldn't allow Norlit to go under. Jean-Pierre Sternheim, CEO of Rabot-Dutilleul, asked me to take over the management until the end of the year." In the meantime, Daniel Osseland had set up Icob (timber frame construction engineering). Today, the managing director carries out this mission via his company, and receives no salary as he is retired. "Seniors are to business what sixth gear is to cars. We're there to advise, and all this is validated by management. I'm driven by the desire to support someone who can take over from me".