The Duke of Sussex has secured a job as the Chief Impact Officer at BetterUp, a firm based in San Francisco that provides employee coaching and mental health support.
According to the company, Prince Harry’s role will strive on increasing mental fitness advocacy and awareness, as well as diversifying BetterUp’s community of coaches and clients through strategic planning.
In his statement about the leadership role, Harry said he aspires to use his own experiences through “the power of transforming pain into purpose” to help BetterUp Inc.’s clients with “proactive coaching” for personal development, as well as achieve “an all-round better life”.
The move comes less than a month after Buckingham Palace announced that Harry and his wife Meghan Markle had finalised their divorce from the royal family and would no longer be working members of the family and would be losing their patronages.
CEO of BetterUp, Alexi Robichaux considered Harry’s past military background and his mental health initiatives at the Royal Family would be an asset to the company.
“We are energized by his model of inspiration and impact through action,” he said.
“As a true citizen of the world, he has dedicated his life’s work to bringing attention to the diverse needs of people everywhere and advocating for mental health initiatives.”
As founder of the Invictus Games, Harry helped injured or sick armed military personnel using sport to improve their psychological and physical rehabilitation.
Harry also launched Sentebale, a charity that supports the mental health and wellbeing of young people affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana.
The BetterUp online bio presents the royal in a black and white photo describing him as “humanitarian, military veteran, mental wellness advocate, and environmentalist”.
BetterUp, which was established in 2013, recently raised $125 million in funding from a group of foreign investors. It was valued at $1.7 billion as a result of the new financing, making it a so-called “unicorn” – a start-up valued at more than $1 billion.
It claims to have 2,000 coaches working for it, as well as 300 corporate clients such as Hilton, Nasa, Chevron, and Mars.
Harry’s salary remains unknown but it is certain that he features as the new CIO of BetterUp.
Once working on the premises is permitted under the COVID guidelines, Harry will be expected to work as part of the gig, at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco.
Photo: Person holding pencil near laptop computer by Scott Graham available HERE and used under a Creative Commons Attribution. The image has not been modified.
