Meghan and Harry ‘hire one of Bill and Melinda Gates’ top executives to be their chief of staff and head of their new charity’
- Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are busy building their future charity and have recruited a former staffer from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation
- Catherine St-Laurent has led Pivotal Ventures created by Melinda Gates
- The foundation launched in 2012 and serves to help women around the world
- It’s not clear what Harry and Meghan’s new entity is exactly
Catherine St-Laurent has led Pivotal Ventures created by Melinda Gates and will now head up Harry and Meghan’s new charity
Prince Harry and Megan Markle have managed to tempt one of Bill and Melinda Gates’ top staffers to lead their new, as yet undefined, charity.
Catherine St-Laurent has been hired as chief of staff and executive director of their nonprofit enterprise.
St-Laurent was the director at Pivotal Ventures, Melinda Gates’ women and families foundation.
St-Laurent was essentially the strategy lead for Gates and involved her supporting campaigns that aimed to help improve the lives of women around the globe including the Family Planning 20-20 plan which looks to ensure contraception and birth control is available to 120 million women around the world, according to Page Six.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are busy building their future charity and have recruited a former staffer from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation
Catherine St-Laurent was the director of Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda Gates foundation and is leaving to begin a role as Chief of Staff and Executive Director of a new non-profit enterprise for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
St-Laurent wrote to her friends and colleagues prior to her departure: ‘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.
‘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 realizing their vision and enabling them to achieve impact on the issues that matter most to them.’
It’s not clear exactly what Harry and Meghan’s new entity is exactly. ‘It’s not a foundation and it’s not likely to be a traditional charity,’ said a source Page Six.
‘Harry and Meghan want to find their own way of giving back and new ways to make change.’
It has been suggested that Harry and Meghan would like to model themselves on Bill and Melinda Gates, pictures, whose charitable foundation has donated tens of billions of dollars
It’s believed St-Laurent, who comes from Montreal got to meet Meghan and Harry through their Canadian connections including the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie.
Meghan’s BFF Jessica Mulroney is also Canadian and her husband, Ben Mulroney is the son of former Canada Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
On Thursday it was confirmed that Harry and Meghan have now left Canada for Los Angeles and are looking to buy a new home in the Hollywood area.
The pair wanted to be close to ‘their new team of Hollywood agents and PRs’ as well as Meghan’s friends and her mother Doria.
It’s believed St-Laurent, who comes from Montreal met Meghan and Harry through their Canadian connections including the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and wife Sophie, pictured
Meghan’s BFF Jessica Mulroney is also Canadian and her husband, Ben Mulroney is the son of former Canada Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Jessica and Ben are pictured here