Prince Harry may no longer be part of the family business, man – but he is now officially an entrepreneur. On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Meghan Markle’s husband accepted a role in a startup in Silicon Valley.
In other words, he is totally in California.
According Wall Street Journal, the new role, which Harry will be the first to assume, is in line with his stated commitment to mental health initiatives, including an upcoming Apple TV + series with friend and interviewer Oprah. “The Duke of Sussex will become the director of impact for BetterUp Inc., a fast-growing mental health and training company,” reported WSJ.
BetterUp proudly posted the news on Instagram Tuesday night, writing:
We are honored to welcome Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, as BetterUp’s first Chief Impact Officer.
Prince Harry is a natural addition to our executive team, as he has long been an advocate for improving mental fitness – the key to peak performance, powerful leadership and a purpose-driven self. He is excited to join BetterUp to help more people unlock their potential through training, connection and community support.
In his role, Prince Harry will guide our social mission, expand our global community and influence the vision of our members’ experience, bringing the power of professional and personal growth to people everywhere.
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On your website, BetterUp explained more about Harry’s new role, as well as the prince himself in a statement that described the four main areas in which he will focus on the company, reading in part:
What I learned in my own life is the power to turn pain into purpose … what caught my attention about BetterUp was that the company’s mission to unlock the potential of people everywhere requires innovation, impact and integrity. His team has been doing this work for years. I was also impressed by the scale and opportunity for impact – the ability to change the lives of millions of people for the better, through a combination of human connection, cutting edge technology and behavioral science …
As BetterUp’s first Chief Impact Officer, my goal it is to raise critical dialogues around mental health, build supportive and compassionate communities and promote an environment for honest and vulnerable conversations. AND my hope it is helping people to develop their inner strength, resilience and confidence.
Harry also revealed that he personally benefited to work with a BetterUp coach, and that he and Meghan also provided access to coaching for the team in their non-profit organization, Archewell. “I intend to help create an impact on people’s lives,” he said by email to the WSJ.
BetterUp CEO Alexi Robichaux echoed the sentiment, telling the WSJ that “It is a significant and substantial role” and explaining that he and Harry started “conversations” last fall, after being introduced by a mutual friend. However, Robichaux was a little vague about exactly how chubby, simply stating that Harry will be a “corporate officer” in a non-administrative role that can “spend some time” at BetterUp’s San Francisco headquarters, as well as at general meetings. Perhaps most revealing is that Harry “must also appear at special company events,” reports WSJ.
Robichaux also did not reveal how much the Duke of Sussex will earn in his new role, but it is doubtful that the Duke is in desperate need of funds at the moment. Despite recent revelations to Oprah that he had been cut off from the royal family and temporarily lived on the money inherited from his late mother Diana’s estate, he and Meghan also recently closed highly lucrative, multi-year deals with Netflix and Spotify, the first of which alone was speculated worth approximately $ 100 million.
That said, the lifestyle he has become accustomed to as the son of the future King of England is not cheap. With a growing family now, Harry is apparently ready to get a day job.
“It is about recognizing that it is not so much what is wrong with us, but more about what has happened to us throughout our lives,” he told WSJ. “Often, because of social barriers, financial difficulties or stigma, many people are unable to focus on their mental health until they are forced to do so. I want us to move away from the idea that you must feel broken before asking for help. “
Speaking of a breakup, with regard to Harry’s relationship with another future King of England, his brother William, it remains to be seen whether their strong bond will be fully repaired. An exclusive report / puff-piece published on Saturday by the London Times stated that “William misses Harry”, with a friend of the older prince saying to the take: “It’s still raw. He is very upset about what happened, although he is absolutely determined that he and Harry’s relationship will heal over time. “
Prove that the palace public relations team definitely deserves a raise, British colleague the telegraph responded with his own coverage on Saturday, posting an interview with Seyi Obakin, OBE, a longtime friend of the prince and CEO of the UK Centrepoint charity, one of William’s real sponsors since 2005. Reinforce Wills’ claim that royalty is “much is not a racist family, ”Obakin told the Telegraph:
“I never saw a sign of racism. Never. I’ve worked with him for years. ”
Obakin shared that their friendship with the prince began when the two participated in “nights” together in support of the organization, adding that William – or “PW”, as Obakin calls him – had volunteered on several occasions “as part of a multi-ethnic team serving a multi-ethnic group of young people. ”
“He met my family. He never treated us with anything other than decency, dignity and respect, ”added Obakin.
This is the part where we remind you that there is a world of difference between being friendly or philanthropic and welcoming someone into your immediate family, elitist and historically colonialist with open arms. But hey, we’re just dumb Americans with day jobs. What do we know?