You’re a high performer in your own right, an extremely talented professional with a great and rewarding career. You’re arguably at the top of your game and people depend on your leadership. Your time is precious, with every minute of every day booked back to back . Your continued success mandates you stay full-on focused and fabulous.

And now you find yourself on the road to divorce.

Whether you are here willingly or unwillingly, the divorce journey will be a challenging one to navigate. Even in the most amicable of circumstances, change is hard and it’s even harder when it involves your personal life. Most divorced executives report that their divorce experience was the hardest thing they ever had to deal with.

To navigate successfully through the complexities and multitude of decisions inherent in divorce, I know first-hand that you MUST be, at all times, on your A game. You must be knowledgeable, insightful, prepared, and engaged.

You at Your Best

We specialize in coaching divorcing executives, professionals and business owners so that you show up at your very best, everywhere you need to be:

at the office, managing the business
at your kitchen table, connecting with your kids
with your former spouse, creating a co-parenting plan
at your lawyer’s office, finalizing the legal paperwork

Your thought partner on every step of the journey…

You need a vision and a strategy and a likely a few good frameworks.

You’ll need to make what will feel like a thousand decisions. Some that will be big and permanent and life changing, and others that will seem small and trivial but will be important none the less.

We help you explore all the options options, consider consequences and complications and map out risks and contingencies.

We’ve got you…

You also need plans and focus and organization.

You need a superstar project manager to help you define and document your decisions, structure your communications, determine and plan your move(s), organize the complex paperwork, and even help plan quality time with your kids.

We’ve got you here too…

This is not business as usual. You need someone on your team looking out for you and your family’s future holistically, cheering for you to be and do your very best.

Perhaps most of all, even though you may not see it now, you need emotional, intellectual and soulful support and encouragement. You need someone you can confide in, someone who will care for your needs holistically to get you through the myriad of emotions you and your family will face.

We care deeply and sincerely…

….about you and your family, we really do.

It is our honour and our passion to walk alongside you to ensure you’re operating intellectually, physically, and emotionally at your very best in ALL aspects of your life. For you, and for your kids.

To be clear…

We are not advocates for divorce – any more than cardiologists are advocates for heart disease. YOUR success navigating through the transition journey of divorce with honour, integrity and grace is our ONLY mandate.

Services I Offer

Our solutions are customized to your unique situation, your unique needs and your unique goals.

Many clients have NO idea what they are in for, or how long and complex the divorce journey will be. Most of our executives work with us through to the place where they (and their children) are thriving in a new normal, where there is peace and connection and joy again.

Read about our five proprietary programs which offer real impact to help you quickly minimize the chaos so you stay on you’re a game and stay meaningfully engaged as a parent to your children no matter their age.

Lets talk and explore the benefits for you and your family of making the choice to invest in engaging with an expert coach who exclusively serves executives and professionals.

To schedule an exploration conversation, or to read more information about our coaching programs designed specifically for executives and professionals, visit our scheduling service page:

https://executivedivorceexpert.as.me/

(yes, our website is under construction and coming soon)

Certifications

*Divorce Coach
*Chartered Director
*Hockey Coach- Level 2
*Hockey Trainer- Level 2
*Cardiac Rehabilitation Exercise Specialist
*Spiritual Director
*Licensed Marriage Officiant

Professional Memberships

*Board of Director
*Harvard Kennedy School -Alumni
*BCG-Boston Consulting Group -Alumni
*Kearney Management Consulting-Alumni
*Anglican Church of Canada- Honorary Priest

Background Experience

Meet Your Coach

Michelle L. Stanford, BSc, MBA, MDiv, CSD© CDC©, C Dir©

I know the divorce drill…

I know the realties of divorce first-hand. I divorced a cardiologist in my mid-twenties. I’ve now been married for 21 years, with three kids ages 21,19 and 17 after surviving then thriving after a nine month separation seven years in.

My parents divorced when I was 15yo and my brother 13yo. My uncle & aunt divorced the next year when my cousins were 9 and 11. My brother divorced when his kids were 5 and 8.

In the last eight years, my cousins and nine of our closest friends divorced. For the last 3 years, I have found myself engaged with all of them as they sought me out as their go-to confidant, advisor, negotiations expert, coach, and/or emotional counsellor.

It was these same friends who championed that I do what I am now doing: serving other executives and professionals to help them sail quickly and smoothly through divorce as an expert coach to help them and their kids thrive again.

I know the corporate drill…

My education and work experience have prepared me exceptionally well to coach fellow senior executives, professionals and business owners going through divorce.

Following an undergrad in biochemistry, I worked in sales and marketing in the pharmaceutical industry for five years before embarking on an entrepreneurial journey to establish the first non-profit community-based cardiac care, research and rehabilitation program in Canada.

I went on to complete my MBA at Ivey, Canada’s #1 business school, graduating at the top of my class. I then worked as a management consultant for the prestigious Boston Consulting Group in Canada & AT Kearney in New York. I was an expert in strategy and operations for eight years and received numerous awards for collaboration, thought leadership, mentoring, and exceptional client work.

Following the birth of my third child, I joyfully gave up the 80 hr work weeks and weekly travel, and for the last 17 years I held senior executive roles leading major turnarounds and transformations across sales, marketing, and operations for global professional services companies based in the US and Canada.

I have the knowledge, expertise and training…

I have a number of relevant professional licenses and certifications which bring great value to my executive and professional clients navigating through the complexities of divorce.

International Certified Divorce Coach, 2020, CDC USA
Certified Corporate Director, 2020, Directors College, Canada
Certified Spiritual Director and Relationship Counsellor, 2012, Hayden Institute, USA
Hospital Chaplain, 2012, Halton Healthcare, Oakville, Canada
Certified Hockey Coach and Trainer-Levels I and II, 2011
Certified Exercise Specialist, 1994, University of Wisconsin, USA
Certified Health Educator, 1990, Western University, Canada

I care deeply…

I am:

dedicated to you, your happiness and your success.
committed to be your guide and partner for as long as you need me
compassionate, caring and can be encouragingly tough (if you need me to be)

I’m exceptionally, holistically talented …

… a strategist with laser sharp analytics, insights and intuitiveness.

… skilled in personal, family and organizational transformation.

… proactive, anticipatory, responsive and uber organized.

… an articulate, tough, and skilled negotiator.

I’m well connected and well respected…

I maintain a comprehensive referral network of professionals who specialize in services that you will benefit from on your divorce journey.

Coach Specialties

Conflict, Divorce Process, Divorce Mediation, Parenting/Co-Parenting, Dispute Resolution

Testimonials

Coming Soon

Book a Complimentary Session

Honour Yourself & Your Family With An Expert Coach

You and your family deserve to sail through this transition time with ease and grace and harmony as FAST as you can. The faster and more efficiently you can work through to a new joyful norm is truly what is best for everyone involved.

We focus your energy and efforts on activities and decisions aligned to building the future you want for your career, your kids and your personal wellbeing.

Only an expert coach can help you navigate the transitions of divorce to get you sailing smoothly into the joy filled future you want for yourself and your family as soon as possible.

Let’s Talk

Let’s be in conversation to explore what’s going on for you and you will quickly see how having us as your dedicated coach and transition partner will be game changing.