Destination: Phu Quoc, Vietnam
Vietnam · Portugal · Montana · UK
Now what.
A private, fully hosted retreat for accomplished professionals at a career or life crossroads. Step away for 3–5 days. Get clear. Leave with a plan.
25 years inside the hiring decisions that shape executive careers.
Now, a different kind of conversation, about what comes next for you.
Destination: Phu Quoc, Vietnam
Maybe it's your career. Maybe it's personal. Maybe you've just realized somewhere along the way that being successful and being happy stopped being the same thing.
Whatever it looks like, you've been carrying this question longer than you'd like to admit, and you can't think clearly about it from inside the life that's asking it.
That's exactly what Cutting Edge is for.
Have done the work, in their career, their family, their life, and are wondering what comes next
Are no longer motivated primarily by money, but by what comes next
Travel often, are open to living abroad, or are already considering it
Are ready to talk to someone who will tell them the truth, not what they want to hear
For those seriously considering leaving corporate life: fractional work, a venture of their own, or a life built somewhere else entirely.
You've built a great life. A career, a reputation, the kind of success that looks great from the outside. And yet the ladder that got you here no longer feels like the right direction. This path is for you if you are honest enough to admit the current version of your life isn't the final one.
The DeliverablesFor senior professionals who aren't ready to leave the game, but know they're capable of playing a much bigger one.
You're good at what you do, and you know it. What you don't know is why the next level keeps moving just out of reach. This path is the answer to that question, unfiltered, from someone who has spent 25 years on the other side of the hiring decision and knows exactly how those decisions get made when you're not in the room.
The DeliverablesThe retreat starts before you arrive. I will send you a short questionnaire and schedule a private conversation before you set off to help me understand your situation, what's pulling at you, and what you want greater clarity on by the time you leave. Completing this groundwork before you arrive is essential, as it allows us to focus our time together on your priorities and the challenges you are facing.
The retreat days are structured, but not rigid. We have deep working sessions when you're at your sharpest, mixed with time outside in nature, out on the water, over good food, away from all screens and everything else that pulls at you daily. While we're in deep working sessions, we disconnect. We put our phones away, email is off, no Slack, and no news. Some of the most useful conversations we will have won't happen sitting across a table. They'll happen out on a hike, or while we're looking out at the ocean. Everything you'll encounter is designed to create the space for the clear thinking you came for.
You'll leave with not only a renewed outlook, but a fully tangible written plan built around your path, including a decision framework, a deep analysis of your strengths, your patterns and the blind spots we have uncovered, and a concrete 90-day roadmap. This written plan is not for the bottom drawer when you get home. This roadmap will be your framework going forward, and you can begin executing it immediately.
The retreat doesn't end at the airport. We'll reconnect 30 and 90 days later to review what's been improving, discuss what's stalled, and adjust the plan when your real life gets involved again. We're in this together, so for those who want more support, continued advisory is available, and encouraged, beyond the 90 days.
Most programs hand you a plan and wish you well.
This one stays with you long enough to make sure the plan survives real life.
Not a rigid itinerary. A rhythm that leaves room for the conversation to go where it needs to.
The schedule changes because the person changes. This is not a seminar disguised as a retreat.
It's hard to think clearly about your life while you're still in the middle of it. Your inbox, your routine, the version of yourself you show up as every day. Getting some real distance from all of that is half the point of coming here.
I've split my time between Vietnam, the UK and the US for the last ten years, so I know Vietnam as a place I live, not somewhere I visit. I know the quiet spots, the best places to eat, and how the pace here gets under your skin. Most people feel it within a day or two. They slow down without trying, and they start thinking more clearly.
It also helps to see a different kind of life up close. If you've wondered whether living differently is really possible, you'll spend time with someone who has actually done it, and who can help you picture how it could work for you.
This isn't a resort vacation. Most of our time is spent off the beaten path, somewhere quiet enough to think clearly, and I'm happy to share this part of my world with you.
Also Available, By Request
Where I grew up. Big sky, real wilderness, and the kind of perspective that only comes from a place where the nearest town is an hour away.
My wife's corner of the Peak District. Stone villages, long walks, and a slower pace within easy reach of London.
A family connection in the northern countryside. Quiet, unhurried, and easy to reach from either side of the Atlantic.
I have spent 25 years in executive search, working with senior leaders and sitting close to the decisions that shape careers. I have seen what gets people hired, what gets them stuck, and what happens when the version of success that got you here is no longer the version you want.
I have also built a life that looks very different from the one I started with. I have lived around the world, built and run my own business for nearly two decades, and made choices that prioritized freedom, experience and curiosity alongside professional success.
Outside of work, I am happiest moving. I am a licensed skipper who spent several years living aboard a sailboat, and I still sail, kitesurf and cycle. I collect vinyl and have been playing disco and house music in clubs around the world for more than 25 years.
If you love music and movement, and you're curious about people from every corner of the world, we're probably going to get along.
What I bring is experience, pattern recognition, curiosity, and a willingness to ask the questions other people avoid. I have spent a career understanding people, careers and organizations, while building a life that has taught me there is more than one definition of success. Cutting Edge brings those two things together.
You will meet Claire.
My wife Claire is part of the experience too. She's a bestselling ghostwriter, musician and creative with a perspective on life that is often very different from mine, in the best possible way. She helps make the retreat what it is, from the experience around the work to the conversations that happen when you're no longer "in session." She's not another coach in the room. She's part of the environment we've created here.
Cutting Edge Retreats is new. The 25 years behind it are not.
"He is a reputable and well-known recruiter in the consumer goods space. Michael gives a great overview and real insight into a prospective company's culture and career path. He is a pleasure to work with, and I am always interested in hearing what he's working on when he calls."
National Sales Manager, natural foods company
"We reached out to Michael for a high-end, specific need. He found candidates that directly met our requirements and presented both sides well. He managed the entire process with professionalism, patience, and tenacity. I would hire Michael again and highly recommend him."
VP Human Resources, multinational gaming company
For 40 years, my dad, Joe McGowan, ran a barbershop. He called it The Cuttin Edge, deliberately misspelled, proudly his own.
He showed up every day, learned his craft, and built real relationships one chair, one conversation at a time. He never chased a trend or dressed the place up to be something it wasn't. He just did the work, honestly, for four decades, and the people kept coming back.
My father passed away in May 2026, and losing him has a way of putting things in sharp focus. It reminded me how much of a real life actually happens in person, in a chair, across a table, in a room with someone, not on a screen. And how easy it is to let years slip by assuming there will always be more time for the conversations that actually matter.
That's part of why this exists. After years of video calls, LinkedIn messages, and relationships managed through a screen, I wanted to build something that gets people back into the room. Real place. Real time. Real conversation, face to face, the way my father spent his whole career having them.
Cutting Edge Retreats is what I built with all of that in mind. Like a great barber, I don't add things. I cut away what's grown out of shape, what no longer fits, what you've been carrying too long. And I send you out looking more like yourself than when you walked in.
Three to five days, built entirely around one person, with follow-up sessions at 30 and 90 days after you get home. Accommodation, meals, ground transport, local experiences and my time are all included. Flights are the only thing you'll need to arrange yourself.
Cost varies depending on the path you choose, how long you stay, the location, and how you want to be looked after while you're there.
I host six retreats a year. That's deliberate, it means each one gets my full attention, and it means the fit has to be right on both sides.
We talk about cost on our first call, once we both have a feel for whether this is right. No pressure either way, and no obligation to go further if it isn't.
Completely. Many people who come here are still employed, sometimes in senior public roles, and are not ready for anyone to know they are considering a change. What is discussed stays between us.
The core experience is one on one, built entirely around you. If your partner is part of the decision you are working through, we can talk about how to involve them in a way that still protects the depth of the process.
No. Most people arrive with a question, not an answer. Clarity is what you leave with, not what you need to bring.
Most people choose one-on-one because the conversations that matter most rarely happen in a room full of people. Small groups of up to three work well when a few people are at the same point together, but the depth of attention does not change either way.
It depends on the path you choose, how long you stay, and the location. We cover it on the first call, once we both have a feel for whether this is right. Everything except your flights is included.
I read every message personally and will be in touch within 48 hours to set up an initial call. No automated sequence, no sales team. Just a conversation to see if this is the right fit.
This is not a booking form. It is the beginning of a conversation. A few short questions. I will be in touch within 48 hours.