The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have hired the head of their new non-profit organisation, it has been revealed.
The couple, who have recently relocated to Los Angeles, has turned to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation when selecting someone for the top spot of their first charitable venture outside the Royal Family.
In an email obtained by People, the director of brand and special initiatives for Pivotal Ventures – an investment company created by Melinda Gates – Catherine St-Laurent farewelled her colleagues and revealed her new role as chief of staff and executive director for the Sussexes’ non-profit.
“After nearly 9 years alongside Melinda and the Gates Foundation and Pivotal Ventures teams, I am moving on to begin a new chapter and wanted to make sure to share my contact info so we can stay in touch,” Catherine emailed her colleagues, People reports.
“Beginning next week I will be acting as Chief of Staff and Executive Director of the new non-profit enterprise for Meghan M and Harry. They are embarking on a new chapter themselves and I am thrilled to be able to play a supporting role in realising their vision and enabling them to achieve impact on the issues that matter most to them.”
Harry and Meghan have hired Catherine St-Laurent to lead their new non-profit organisation. (Image: Getty)
Meghan and Harry, who will officially step back as senior members of the Royal Family on April 1, last month announced more details about their new non-profit endeavour.
In a post to their official website it was explained: “In addition to continuing to work closely with their existing patronages as they build a plan for engagements in the UK and the Commonwealth throughout the year, The Duke and Duchess have also been undertaking meetings as part of their ongoing work to establish a non-profit organisation.
“The details of this new organisation will be shared later in the year,” adding the new charitable organisations will follow similar themes to the work they have championed as working royals which includes “the Commonwealth, community, youth empowerment and mental health.”
While a non-profit organisation had always been in the works for the couple after they split from The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s foundation Harry and Meghan have had to make several adjustments, namely the title of their new charitable organisation.
While they had originally planned to call it Sussex Royal, The Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, with the use of the word ‘royal’ now out of bounds as they step back they will have to choose a new name and have also decided not to create a foundation, instead opting for a non-profit organisation.
The Sussexes will officially be stepping back as senior members from April 1. (Image: Getty)
Last week Duchess Meghan’s first big project outside of the royal realm was revealed as a project with Disney.
The project, a film called Elephant for Disneynature, has Meghan narrating the story of a herd of African elephant’s epic journey across the Kalahari Desert, set to be released on April 3 on Disney+ with money raised going towards the charity Elephants Without Borders, which both Harry and Meghan are heavily involved in supporting.
The film is released alongside another film narrated by Natalie Portman called Dolphin Reef.
