About

our approach

At Arcadia Group, we believe in leveraging the power of integration to unlock superior outcomes for individuals and organizations.

Our approach bridges the gap between the holistic and the pragmatic, creating a comprehensive and effective solution set for your unique needs.

The Pragmatic Foundation

We ground our approach in measurable elements:

We analyze your actions and interactions to understand your current state.

We assess your expertise and skill sets to identify strengths and areas for development.

We evaluate your practical abilities to perform specific tasks effectively.

We observe your actions and communication styles to gain insights into your approach.

We leverage your past experiences to inform future strategies and actions.

the holistic advantage

Beyond the measurable, we delve deeper into the underlying drivers:

Integration for Impact

By combining the measurable and the intangible, we provide a 360-degree view of your situation.

This allows us to design comprehensive solutions that address both the “how” and the “why”, leading to:

Enhanced effectiveness: Addressing both practical actions and underlying drivers leads to more sustainable and impactful results.
Greater self-awareness: Understanding your values and beliefs empowers you to make conscious choices and navigate challenges effectively.
Personal and professional growth: By optimizing both the tangible and intangible aspects of your being, you unlock your full potential for success.

Our Values

Arcadia Group relies on these core values to guide our work and relationships with clients. We also help others uncover and embody their own core values.

Authenticity: Being true to oneself in all endeavors.
Client Focus: We are here for the client, not ourselves.
Creativity: Innovative solutions to challenges.
Excellence: Delivering our best.
Growth: Operating beyond boundaries.

Integrity: Be the example we wish to see.
Relationship: Creating more together.
Service: Thinking beyond oneself and seeing action as contribution.
Sustainability: Creating renewable capabilities in our clients and ourselves; doing well through doing good.

About Us

Prosperity and Fulfillment

Arcadia is a metaphor for the prosperity and fulfillment that we help create for our clients. Arcadia refers to a utopia that is in harmony with nature. It is often connected with The Golden Age of Greek mythology and represents a period of primordial peace, prosperity, harmony and stability. Arcadia has captured the imagination of painters, poets, playwrights and other artists for centuries to evoke an ideal state of existence of virtuous living and connection to the natural world.

Phi - Infinite Development

We chose phi, The Golden Mean, as our logo. The Golden Mean (or Golden Ratio) is one of those mysterious natural numbers, like e or pi, that seem to arise out of the basic structure of our cosmos. Unlike those abstract numbers, however, phi appears clearly and regularly in the realm of things that grow and unfold in steps, and that includes living things. The decimal representation of phi is 1.6180339887499….

In pure mathematics, an increase in size can be any imaginable number, even one like e or pi. But in the world of nature, things always grow by adding some unit, even if the unit is as small as a molecule. So it’s not surprising that phi turns out to be an ideal rate for things to grow by adding some quantity.

Thus, phi is one the fundamental building blocks of natural development and represents how we help our clients achieve excellent growth into a state of Arcadia.

Meet Our Leadership Team

Michael McDermott

Managing Partner & Founder

Michael has spent the past 30 years designing and delivering a wide range of global development solutions to increase company value through leadership and organizational excellence. With 20 years senior executive experience at JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Merrill Lynch, followed by 10 years consulting experience at Blackstone, S.A.C. Capital Advisors, and other organizations, Michael enhances company performance through strategic solutions that help leaders achieve their aspirational goals and develop aligned organizations with high-performing cultures.

Michael founded Arcadia Group which delivers consulting, coaching and other strategic development services to Blackstone, Novo Nordisk, The White House – The Office of the First Lady, Hilton Worldwide, S.A.C. Capital Advisors, Barclays Capital, Cornell Medical Center, Spring Lake Ranch, Summit Materials, OMG, Cisco, George W. Bush Institute, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Department of Defense, Beazley and Verisign, as well as individuals from other Fortune 500 companies and beyond. This breadth of experience has informed Arcadia Group’s integrative yet practical approach to its services: linking talent development to value generation, strategically employing different interventions based on need, and addressing mindsets – the deeper drivers of human behavior – to generate powerful and sustainable change. His range of experience with diverse leaders has also deepened an appreciation for how awareness, mastery and transformation of the mind shape and determine multiple dimensions of professional success and personal fulfillment.

Michael is a certified ICF coach, a graduate of the Georgetown Leadership Coaching Program, and is certified in Meyers Briggs and Compass. In addition, he is a Reiki Master Teacher, meditation instructor, NLP Master Coach and martial artist, and has facilitated and designed corporate and spiritual retreats. He is an instructor with the Global Leaders Academy, a co-founder of The Program in Sustainable Living for Leaders, a trustee of the Edge of Emergence for Sustainable Leadership, former Vice Chair of the Board for The Cancer Support Community of Southern Connecticut, and current Chairman of the Board for Ray of Light.

Brendon Bluestein

Partner & Sr Organizational Psychologist

Colonel (Retired) Brendon W. Bluestein is a nationally recognized Senior Leader and Expert in Operational Psychology with 25 years of experience supporting Special Operations, Intelligence Communities (IC), and the Corporate Sector through personnel assessment and selection as well as coaching and team development of elite performers and Senior Leaders.

Beau Higgins

Beau is a retired Marine that served for 25 years as an intelligence officer with the Marine Corps. This included deployments to Somalia, Bosnia, 3 tours to Iraq, and 3 tours to Afghanistan. He had the privilege to command 1st Reconnaissance Battalion and Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. Following his retirement in 2014, Beau served as a senior manager on Amazon’s Military Affairs team, Beau was the leader of an organization tasked with elevating the cross-company strategic impact, both internally and externally, stewarding the considerable investment Amazon has made in the US Military community.

During his 7 years at Amazon, Beau was responsible for creating scalable veteran programs, developing policies and strategic planning for military recruiting and outreach efforts. He and his team focused on effective strategies for hiring, developing and retaining the best and the brightest military talent available for positions within Amazon. Beau left Amazon in April of 2023 and focused his career on helping companies find Veteran talent. He is currently serving as the VP for talent acquisition with the Arcadia Group. He is dedicated to supporting leaders, businesses and organizations in developing and executing comprehensive talent acquisition strategies, executives searches and services using an integrative, relationship-centered and strategic lens.

Meredith M. Lozar

Chief of Staff

A leading strategist and military affairs professional, Meredith serves as Chief of Staff for Arcadia Group. With over 20 years of experience in business development, strategic partnerships, and program development, Meredith brings her expertise to Arcadia Group through enhancing team efficiency, expanding partnerships, and bringing a strategic lens to program development and expansion.

Tony Cerella

Coach

Dr. Tony Cerella is a former U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel who serves others as a coach, facilitator, and storyteller. During his 23 years of international military service, Tony excelled in challenging multinational assignments models positive behaviors, shares wisdom, and creates safe spaces for constructive vulnerability. Since Tony’s transition from military service was positively influenced by coaching, he easily and excitably shifted from Army officer to coach. As a coach Tony uses compassion to explore opportunities for growth and balance, connecting easily with leaders from multiple industries and professions. He is a steady hand who listens deeply and offers experience, humor, and empathy as a coach and facilitator to create opportunities for growth.

He completed the Leadership Coaching Certificate from Georgetown University and is an Associate Certified Coach with the ICF. Tony earned a Doctor of Education in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California, a Master of Science from the Colorado School of Mines, and a Bachelor of Arts from the Virginia Military Institute. Tony is curious, dependable, and loves to share laughter. His friends say that he is a generous soul and a thoughtful storyteller.