FRANKFURT -- Until recently, Europe's chief executives enjoyed job security akin to the civil service. CEOs didn't get fired in Old Europe; they became the chairmen of the board.

No more. The onset of a shareholder-driven equity culture in Europe has meant chief executives have to fight to survive and many don't. Yet unlike in the U.S., where fired CEOs can often emerge as top bosses at other firms, European CEOs who get sacked have a harder time landing a similar position.

In Europe, getting fired still carries a social stigma that is difficult for many ousted chief executives to overcome. Peter Breen, a London-based partner at Heidrick & Struggles, a leading executive-search firm, says Europeans typically have "a more conservative mindset and a distaste for failure." This attitude, coupled with Europeans' general aversion to risk, means many chief executives never get a second chance, he says.

Recent years have witnessed the high-profile ouster of some of Europe's biggest corporate superstars. The list includes Vivendi Universal SA's Jean-Marie Messier, Deutsche Telekom AG's Ron Sommer, Telefónica SA's Juan Villalonga and Bertelsmann AG's Thomas Middelhoff. None of them found new jobs as chief executives.

Though most have financial security, many CEOs are by nature workaholics and eager to move on to a new challenge. Some start their own companies, such as Mr. Messier's investment-consulting firm. Others, such as Mr. Sommer, who recently acquired his pilot's license, pursue a new hobby. Some simply fade away.

Even for those who succeed in finding a new job, it often takes a while.

Consider Mr. Middelhoff. Unlike most other ousted CEOs, whose departures were preceded by months of speculation and pressure from shareholders, Mr. Middelhoff's resignation was sudden. When it was announced on a Sunday afternoon in July 2002, few suspected it was coming.

The reasons for his departure -- a dispute with Bertelsmann's dominant shareholder, the Mohn family, and a power struggle with the supervisory board chairman -- had more to do with differences in strategy than business failure. (Last week, Gerd Schulte-Hillen, the supervisory board chairman who tangled with Mr. Middelhoff, fell victim to a similar conflict with the family and current management over strategy and resigned.)

Following Mr. Middelhoff's forced resignation, rumors swirled about where he would land. His personal public-relations consultants fanned the flames by scheduling news conferences and then canceling them without explanation. They leaked word that he was in the running to become the next chief executive of Deutsche Telekom and the head of the World Economic Forum, the Geneva-based organizer of conferences on global politics and business.

In the end, neither worked out. Then, in June -- nearly a year after leaving Bertelsmann -- Mr. Middelhoff, 50 years old, accepted a job as the head of European corporate investment for Investcorp, a Bahrain-based private-equity firm. He took the job after 17 interviews with Investcorp bosses.

Mr. Middelhoff plays down any frustrations he felt while on the job market. "I don't regard myself as an 'ousted' chief executive," he said in a short telephone interview last week. "In the end, it was my decision to leave [Bertelsmann] and today I'm happier than ever that I did it."

Mr. Middelhoff said he considered two CEO job offers, which he declined to identify, but ultimately decided that the investment job would be a better fit. He said it doesn't bother him that his new position lacks the cachet of leading one of world's biggest media companies.

"I'm making more money than I did before," he added, without disclosing his current salary. Bertelsmann didn't disclose his CEO salary, but he did receive a €20 million ($23.8 million) severance package.

"My family is happy. I think I made the right decision," said Mr. Middelhoff, whose new job is based in London, where he commutes every week from Bielefeld, Germany -- near Bertelsmann headquarters -- where his wife and five children live.

In his new job, Mr. Middelhoff continues to maintain a 15-hour workday. He has added several board positions to his load, including a post as director of German power giant RWE AG, New York Times Co. and the City of Leipzig's Olympic committee that is seeking to snare the 2012 summer games for Germany.

Still, Mr. Breen, the executive recruiter, says Mr. Middelhoff's example proves that Europe is gradually changing and that the stigma attached to a messy departure is slowly fading. In addition, Mr. Breen says, getting fired often leaves executives wiser and more sanguine -- the very attributes many companies are seeking.

"Whereas people used to be more inclined to turn their nose up [at ousted CEOs], they're now looking more beneath the headlines," he said. "The good guys are still in short supply."