Neil Markey
“Einstein said it best: The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.”
His Role
As co-founder and CEO of Beckley Retreats, Neil is passionate about sharing the science-backed benefits of psychedelics in conjunction with the contemplative practices that support holistic wellbeing. At BR, he’s dedicated to building a business that operates with the utmost integrity, both internally and across the many communities it will touch.
His Story
A Captain in the US Army Special Operations 2nd Ranger Battalion, Neil was deployed once to Iraq, and twice to Afghanistan. After, as an MBA/MIA masters student at Columbia University, he suffered from depression and PTSD. This led him to alternative wellbeing practices and marked the start of a profound healing journey with mindfulness and psychedelics. Prior to Beckley Retreats, Neil worked as the Chief Growth Officer for a $450M private equity portfolio company where he was responsible for all strategy and growth planning. Before that he worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Co, where he also co-led the internal mindfulness program.
His Why
Neil credits meditation and plant therapy with saving his life. A curious mathematician from a young age, Neil now sees no real divide between science and spirituality. “Yes, there are miraculous things that are difficult to measure, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist; we can see them in the physics,” he says. “I think Einstein said it best: ‘There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
