Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Chief of Staff quits after just three months: Who is Josh Kettler?

Josh Kettler, who is based in Santa Barbara in California, joined Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as their Chief of Staff a week before the pair visited Nigeria, he joined Prince Harry when he went to London to mark the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games. According to  his  LinkedIn profile, he was Chief of Staff and Head of Strategic Partnerships at Cognixion from November 2022 to October 2023. 

Josh Kettler also worked as Chief of Staff to CEO at Better Place Forests and also worked for more than a decade at outdoor clothing company Patagonia. He is described in his LinkedIn profile as “an avid trail runner and skier” and someone who is a “supporter of conservation and the environment. He has an MBA from Clemson University and lives with his wife in Santa Barbara.

Josh Kettler is not the first Chief of Staff to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that has stepped down in recent years. In 2021, Catherine St-Laurent, who previously advised Bill and Melinda Gates left her role as the couple’s  chief of staff and executive director of their non-profit Archewell Foundation. 

According to Page Six and an email  seen by them, “St-Laurent wrote to friends and colleagues: “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 realising their vision and enabling them to achieve impact on the issues that matter most to them.”

Eleven months after her appointment, Catherine St-Laurent left her role and James Holt, their former communications director, took over the role as he was named executive director of Archewell. In 2022,  Mandana Dayani, the president of Archewell Foundation, stepped down after only 18 months. 

People magazine reported in December 2022, “According to a statement from the nonprofit, Mandana Dayani has stepped down from her position as Archewell president in a "mutually planned" arrangement that will see Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, take "full lead" of their organisation.

"Ms. Dayani has been an integral part of Archewell and we are grateful for her passion, commitment and leadership," the couple shared. "Ms. Dayani was brought on during their parental leave to move the company and its projects forward. She has continued to shape its vision and future successfully."

It was recently reported that Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex has so far not been successful in finding a CEO for her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard.