At TurningSixty, we believe that age is no barrier to energy, purpose, or lifelong learning. Few people embody that belief better than Joe Neil. Now 73, Joe is a man whose professional drive, intellectual curiosity and physical fitness show no signs of slowing down. When we sat down to talk, it became clear that Joe isn’t just still active – he’s still building startups, still learning new things, and still playing football with people half his age. 

Joe’s life story is a testament to the power of adaptability and determination. Born into a working-class family in Southend-on-Sea, his early life was shaped by the kind of class barriers that, while maybe less visible today, were very real at the time. His father had to fight to get him the chance to take the 11-plus exam. Despite academic success, Joe saw that accents and backgrounds still mattered when it came to job prospects. So he made a bold decision: he went abroad. 

After moving to France, he learned the language, found work, and built a life. Crucially, he found that being seen as “a foreigner” in France was far easier than being seen as a “working-class kid” in the UK. That experience, of being valued for what he could do, rather than where he came from, gave him a new sense of possibility. 

As his career developed, Joe continued to seize opportunities across continents. He worked in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and North America, adapting to each culture and role. He became a specialist in ultra-precise timing for telecoms networks, helping to build the systems that keep mobile phones, and much more, synchronised across the globe. From Saudi Arabia to Senegal, Malaysia to Silicon Valley, Joe built his reputation and his expertise. Along the way, he picked up multiple languages, moved between sectors, and refused to be boxed in by expectations of what someone with his background should do. 

And yet, despite this impressive CV, what stands out in conversation with Joe isn’t just what he’s done, it’s how he continues to do it. Since turning 60, Joe has remained firmly engaged in the world of tech, working on a series of startups, mentoring younger colleagues, and staying hands-on with high-level architecture and strategy. His approach to management? Hire smart people, give them the tools they need, and get out of their way. “If you’re managing a software team, they probably know how to code,” he says. “You don’t need to tell them how to do it. You just need to make space for them to do their best work.” 

That philosophy, rooted in trust and autonomy, has allowed Joe to build effective teams and deliver high-impact results, even when starting from scratch. In the past few years alone, he’s helped to launch three different startups, bringing with him a relentless energy and a belief in the power of collaboration. He attributes some of this energy to getting his health under control. At one point, Joe realised he was overweight and at risk of losing the vitality that had defined much of his life. Rather than ignore it, he took action. Through portion control, dietary changes and a focus on consistency, he lost over three stones, and has kept it off. 

“I didn’t do anything fancy,” he says. “No pills, no magic tricks. Just weighing my food, cutting down on carbs, and staying disciplined.” 

He’s also made movement a priority. Joe plays football three times a week, often with players in their 30s and 40s. He jokes that he’s not the fastest on the pitch, but he’s still there, still contributing, and still scoring goals. It’s about mindset, he says. About believing you can still take part, still belong. 

That mindset extends to learning. Joe is a strong advocate for lifelong education. “If you’re not learning, you’re falling behind,” he says. In his 40s, he taught himself the fundamentals of telecoms, despite coming from a humanities background. In his 60s, he became an expert in network synchronisation, a field so niche and complex that most people never even hear about it, despite relying on it daily. 

He’s also got a philosophical streak, particularly when it comes to the concept of time. Having worked in systems that literally create and distribute global time signals, Joe understands both the physics and the poetry of time in a way few others do. He talks about nanoseconds and satellites with the same clarity he brings to discussing football or food. “Time,” he says, “is a human construct. But it’s also one of the most critical pieces of infrastructure we have.” 

So what does Joe think about retirement? The short answer: he doesn’t. “Retirement feels like an abandonment of responsibility to myself,” he says. “If I stop being paid, I’ll just do something new.” He’s seen too many people, including his own father, retire into inactivity and boredom. For Joe, the idea of stopping isn’t appealing. It’s not even logical. He’s not chasing money or status. He just enjoys working, learning, and contributing. “As long as I can do that, I will.” 

Joe’s perspective on retirement challenges the common narrative that slowing down is inevitable. Instead, he suggests that we reframe what later life can look like. It’s not about clinging to youth or pretending nothing changes. It’s about adapting with intention, staying engaged, and finding ways to continue adding value – to yourself and to others. 

That philosophy applies whether you’re launching a business, learning a language, or picking up an old musical hobby. (Joe, it turns out, used to play bass guitar, a detail that surfaced during an exchange about music and the surprising number of bass players among interesting people.) 

“You don’t have to be brilliant,” he says. “You just have to be involved.” 

Joe’s story is a powerful reminder that life after sixty is what you make of it. Health, learning, activity, and attitude – they all matter. And while not all of us will end up building startups or teaching CTOs in China, we can all take inspiration from Joe’s refusal to slow down. He’s not denying the realities of age. He’s just not surrendering to them. 

“I still get tired. I still have days where I don’t feel like doing anything. But I’ve learned that structure helps. Movement helps. Curiosity helps.” 

In short, doing something, even something small, beats doing nothing. 

He may not be playing bass guitar much these days, but the rhythm of his life still has a strong, purposeful beat.