13 August 2024 , 15:51
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Josh Kettler departs before the Sussexes’ Colombia trip with both sides agreeing he was not the right fit
A top aide to the Duke of Sussex has left his role after just three months after mutually agreeing he was not the right fit.
Josh Kettler took up the post of chief of staff in May before the Sussexes’ tour to Nigeria. His departure comes as Harry and Meghan prepare for a working trip to Colombia this week.
It is understood Kettler was hired on a trial basis and the decision to part ways was mutual, with both sides agreeing it was not the correct fit.
Kettler, who was previously chief of staff at the communication platform Cognixion, was said to have been brought in to guide Harry through the “next phase”.
He travelled to London with the prince in May to attend the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Invictus Games at St Paul’s Cathedral.
There have been several staff shake-ups as Harry and Meghan continue with their charitable and production ventures in the US. Departures include Bennett Levine, the manager of Archewell Productions, the company the couple set up in 2020 to make TV programmes and films, who left in January to move to Cinetic Media, a US film financing and distribution company.
Fara Taylor, in charge of Archewell’s marketing team, also moved last year as did the Oscar-nominated producer Ben Browning, who was head of internal content.
Rebecca Sananes left in December 2022 as head of audio at Archewell, 18 months after being hired to produce Meghan’s Spotify podcast Archetypes. Mandana Dayani stepped down after a year and a half as president of Archewell, which also acted as the couple’s charitable foundation.
Meghan is reportedly still looking for a chief executive officer for her cooking and lifestyle business, American Riviera Orchard.
On Thursday, the couple will begin a four-day tour of Colombia at the invitation of the country’s vice-president, Francia Márquez, and will visit Bogotá, Cartagena and Cali, where they will attend a cultural festival.
Márquez, a lawyer and human rights and environmental activist, said in a statement that Harry and Meghan “will have the exceptional opportunity to engage with leaders, youth and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians committed to progress”.
It will be the couple’s second tour of the year after their visit to Nigeria in May.