Prince Harry joins US employee mental health start-up
New York, Mar 23 (efe-epa).- Having relinquished his official British royal family duties, Prince Harry has accepted an executive position with a Silicon Valley employee coaching and mental health startup, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
The New York-based media outlet said the Duke of Sussex will be chief impact officer at BetterUp Inc., a role he sees as an opportunity to help others.
“I intend to help create impact in people’s lives,” Prince Harry told the newspaper in an emailed response to questions about his decision-making process. “Proactive coaching provides endless possibilities for personal development, increased awareness and an all-round better life.”
In his role at BetterUp, he is expected to contribute to product strategy decisions and charitable contribution initiatives, as well as serve as a public advocate for mental health-related topics.
“It’s a meaningful and meaty role,” said BetterUp CEO Alexi Robichaux, who added that he met Prince Harry through a mutual friend and began speaking with him about the job last fall.
The chief impact officer position is a rarity in the corporate world, with those roles more commonly seen at non-profit organizations such as Amnesty International USA and the United Way.
The Wall Street Journal said Robichaux declined to say how the Duke of Sussex will be financially compensated or share details about his contract. Prince Harry will not manage employees but likely will spend some time at the company’s San Francisco headquarters once it is safe for face-to-face work to resume there, the CEO said.
Prince Harry’s openness about his own struggles with grief and mental health issues and his advocacy work as a member of the royal family were appealing to BetterUp’s executives, who thought he could bring a different perspective to the company, Robichaux told the Journal.
“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,” Prince Harry told that financial news daily. EFE-EPA
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