Prince Harry rubbed shoulders with Meghan Markle's good friend as the duchess skipped a trip to San Francisco.
The Duke of Sussex hosted a 'Beyond Burnout' session at a BetterUp summit in San Francisco on Wednesday, where he appeared alongside actress Mindy Kaling as the life-coaching firm's Chief Impact Officer.
A photograph posted on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Sussex.com website also showed the duke posing with Kaling, who appeared on the Duchess of Sussex's Spotify podcast Archetypes.
BetterUp is a life-coaching company based in San Francisco, and Harry, 39, spoke on a panel about managing "the pressures of today’s world and modern corporate life".
Prince Harry at BetterUp’s Uplift Summit
Sussex.com
Prince Harry was joined on stage by BetterUp's Chairman of the Center for Purpose and Performance, Dr Adam Grant and Kelly Jones, Chief People Officer at technology company Cisco.
The father-of-two took up his role at US professional coaching and mental health firm BetterUp in March 2021.
He has spoken at length about his struggles with mental health, and told a previous BetterUp discussion that he has "experienced burnout".
Wednesday's session was named 'Beyond Burnout: Transforming C-Level Stress Into Strength'.
Prince Harry speaking at the talk in San Francisco
Sussex.com
During the event, the audience was told about the "psychological toll of leading through uncertainty".
The duke shared personal anecdotes and "forward-thinking policies" to help leaders cope with pressure in the workplace.
It comes as BetterUp staff questioned Harry's role at the firm in August 2023, with some claiming he had become a "distraction".
The Duke of Sussex reportedly earns a seven-figure salary as the CIO.
Prince Harry is the Chief Impact Officer (CIO) of BetterUp
Sussex.com
Despite this, more than 100 San Francisco-based BetterUp employees were laid off in early 2023.
According to reports in The Daily Beast, the duke became a "target" for angry BetterUp staff.
A former employee said he initially thought Harry's arrival was "cool".
But they added that staff soon began to find him a distraction with many fearing his ongoing dramas might impact on the company's reputation.
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The employee said: "Every article mentions his role at BetterUp then goes on to roast [him and Meghan Markle]... The juice isn't worth the squeeze."
Another said the company treat staff poorly while pushing woke credentials.
They claimed: "We're all there because of the same bull**** story they keep telling us, 'We're mission-driven, and the mission is going to change the world.'"
Harry's public work at BetterUp appears to mostly involve speaking engagements.
