As he relinquishes his the duties with the British monarchy, the Duke of Sussex is now turning his attention to a mental health startup called BetterUp Inc.
“I intend to help create impact in people’s lives,” Prince Harry explained to the Wall Street Journal in an emailed statement. “Proactive coaching provides endless possibilities for personal development, increased awareness, and an all-round better life.”
Prince Harry will serve as a chief impact officer at BetterUp, a company that promises “personalized coaching, content, and care designed to transform lives and careers.” The company offers mental fitness plans geared to both individuals and businesses via personalized coaching and with the help of behavioral scientists and AI.
“We must ‘reframe’ how we think about human flourishing (the potential we all have), peak performance, and mental fitness,” as Alexi Robichaux, CEO of BetterUp, wrote this week. “They are not separate pursuits. They are part of one interconnected journey of growth.
As for Prince Harry’s role, Robichaux says he’ll be utilizing his previous work and expanding upon those initiatives: “[Prince Harry] has dedicated his life’s work to bringing attention to the diverse needs of people everywhere and advocating for mental health initiatives: from founding the Invictus Games, a platform for service personnel to use sport as part of their psychological and physical rehabilitation, to launching Sentebale, which supports the mental health and wellbeing of young people affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana.”
According to the WSJ, Prince Harry will be involved with product strategy decisions and charitable contributions, as well as using his star power to advocate and publicize issues related to mental health. The paper also notes that the position is rare in the corporate world, but more common at nonprofits like Amnesty and the United Way.
As the Duke explained on BetterUp’s site: “I firmly believe that focusing on and prioritizing our mental fitness unlocks potential and opportunity that we never knew we had inside of us. As the Royal Marine Commandos say, ‘It’s a state of mind.’ We all have it in us.”
The news follows the duke and his wife Megan Markle’s public break with the Royal Family, which included a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also signed a large production deal with Netflix last fall.
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