Prince Harry has taken on a new job as an executive of a Silicon Valley startup.
The recently outspoken royal become chief impact officer of BetterUp Inc., an online coaching and mental health firm.
The company, valued at $1.73 billion, refused to reveal the prince’s compensation package — but by Tuesday already had him listed online as part of its “leadership team,” hailing him as a “humanitarian, military veteran, mental wellness advocate, and environmentalist.”
Harry first confirmed his new job in an email exchange with the Wall Street Journal.
“I intend to help create impact in people’s lives,” Harry, 36, told the paper about the job.
“Proactive coaching provides endless possibilities for personal development, increased awareness, and an all-round better life.”
The prince has previously revealed plans to work with mental health issues, and his wife, Meghan Markle, famously admitted to Oprah Winfrey this month that she had felt suicidal while trapped in the royal family.
Harry said he has personally been using BetterUp’s app and one of its 2,000 coaches for a couple of months.
“I was matched with my coach who, quite frankly, is truly awesome and has always given me sound advice and a fresh perspective, which is so valuable,” he told the WSJ.
“This is about acknowledging that it isn’t so much what is wrong with us, but more about what has happened to us over the course of life,” Harry said.
“Often because of societal barriers, financial difficulty, or stigma, too many people aren’t able to focus on their mental health until they’re forced to. I want us to move away from the idea that you have to feel broken before reaching out for help,” he said.
BetterUp CEO Alexi Robichaux refused to reveal details of Harry’s employment agreement or how he was getting compensated, the WSJ said.
But “it’s a meaningful and meaty role,” Robichaux told the paper of the prince joining the company’s leadership team as an “officer of the corporation.”
“He’s synonymous with this approach of mental fitness and really investing in yourself,” Robichaux said. “It was not a hard internal sale.”
Harry is expected to have input into initiatives including product strategy decisions and charitable contributions, and advocate publicly on topics related to mental health.
Harry is eventually expected to spend time in the company’s San Francisco headquarters, attend all-hands meetings and be a special guest at company events, Robichaux said.
Since quitting life as senior royals last year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have used their newfound freedom to ink a $100 million deal with Netflix and launch a podcast, Archewell Audio, with Spotify.
While he has no background in tech, Harry is likely to have no problem getting guidance, his new boss said.
“He will obviously have the whole organization sprinting to help him,” Mr. Robichaux said.
Source: pagesix
