Prince William has issued a statement on the future of the Earthshot Prize after the charity announced its CEO would be stepping down.
Hannah Jones will step down as CEO this summer after four years leading Prince William's environmental initiative.
Jason Knauf, who accused the Duchess of Sussex of bullying in 2018, has been appointed as her replacement and is now working with Jones to ensure a "smooth transition" over the coming months.
Jones will continue to give strategic advice on innovation and sustainability to Kensington Palace, according to the charity.
Prince William has issued a statement on the future of the Earthshot Prize after the charity announced its CEO would be stepping down
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The Prince of Wales, founder and president of The Earthshot Prize, expressed his gratitude to Jones, following her four years leading the organisation.
Prince William said: “As the first CEO, Hannah has built The Prize into a world-class organisation with an incredible team delivering an annual Prize, powering a platform for speeding solutions to scale, and catalysing a movement to encourage young people, spark imaginations and infuse urgent optimism across the world.
"As we look ahead to the future of The Prize and the urgent work needed to scale more inspiring solutions to the world’s greatest challenges, I look forward to working with Jason to chart the course for the next five years of The Earthshot Prize and beyond.”
William set up The Earthshot Prize in 2020 to search for and scale the most innovative solutions to the world's greatest environmental challenges and was inspired by President John F Kennedy's “Moonshot” challenge in 1962 to land a man on the moon within a decade.
Hannah Jones will step down as CEO this summer after four years leading Prince William's environmental initiative
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Jones described her time as CEO as a "privilege" as she spoke about her decision to step down.
She said: “As I tell all our finalists in our annual Fellowship Retreat, one of the most important jobs of a CEO is to know the right time to step aside.
"After four years, and midway through the Earthshot decade, this is my time to pass the baton. It’s been a privilege to help bring The Prince of Wales’s founding vision to life.
"I’m incredibly proud of everything our team has achieved, deeply grateful to all our Founding Partners and Global Alliance for their support, and I am delighted to remain an enthusiastic member of The Earthshot family.”
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The Prince of Wales founded the Eathshot Prize in 2020
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Christiana Figueres, Chair of the Board of Trustees, thanked Jones "deeply" for her hard work over the past four years and said she will always be a valued member of the Earthshot family.
Under her leadership, the Prize has held ceremonies in London, Boston, Singapore and Cape Town.
She has overseen support for 60 global Finalists from over 5,000 nominations and has disbursed £20m in grants to winners and catalysed over £90m for solutions.
The Prize's 60 Finalists have collectively reduced 420,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and protected 170,000 square km of land and oceans.
The Duchess of Sussex strongly denied allegations of bullying made against her by the new CEO, describing the claims as a "calculated smear campaign."
