P. Scott Bening spent three decades building MonoSol into the global leader that made Tide's detergent pods possible.

He started that journey in 1989, refining the water-soluble film technology. Tokyo-based chemical company Kuraray Co. bought MonoSol in 2012. Bening then led Kuraray’s MonoSol division as president and CEO.

He decided to retire in 2021 but was surprised by how lost he felt afterward.

“I expected retirement to feel like freedom, but I wasn’t prepared for the loss of structure and identity that came with leaving work I had spent decades building,” Bening said.

That feeling sparked his next chapter. He recently released latest book “The Back Nine: Inspiration and Insights on Retaining Relevance, Purpose, and Integrity in Retirement.” His first, “Formulating Solutions,” was an Amazon bestseller.

“The ‘Back Nine' is my honest account of that transition and how I learned that relevance and purpose do not end with a title,” he said. “They simply take a different form.”

The first book outlined his path from chemist to entrepreneur and then taking Merrillville-based MonoSol from small company to a global operation.

His career includes 16 U.S. patents, induction into the Chicagoland Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame and the Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest.

Bening, who lives in St. John, now focuses on helping others become successful leaders.