Refugees are always a hot topic, but not all of them come from countries. The term ‘corporate refugee’ has been around since the 1980’s, but in the ever expanding and contracting markets of today, the term has grown to cover those corporate high flyers who make the jump to run their own business on their own accord. When the term was originally coined, corporate refugees were mid to high level corporate managers who had found themselves out of a job through no fault of their own. They had gone from highly secure positions, with pay cheques to match, to unemployment and a job market that no longer valued their contribution. Enter the 2010’s, where the high flyers weren’t always being pushed into the unemployment pool, but many were jumping for the freedom and power that being a ‘corporate refugee’ could provide.

The very security that was key to long term employment in corporates is now the reason why there is a growing movement to consider a refugee status.