The revolving EXIT door of employees chez Sussex continues

[Thedom]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-13922531/Meghan-Markle-Prince-Harry-global-press-secretary-announces-major-job-change.html

Ashley was approached by other clients who were seeking the high-quality counsel she has provided to the Sussexes.

'High quality counsel' that's a bit of a stretch! she should have left when she originally quit, they clearly paid her to stay on at that time.

It's really lousy timing for this announcement, immediately after the employee bullying disclosures, and the spin they are trying to put on it is amusing. Likely the retention package expired at a very inconvenient time and she was not staying a minute longer as their employee.

I wouldn't at all be surprised to find H&M quietly dropped as a client in a few months.

I was just about to suggest that she might be the mole.

So many mixed messages!

You could have sat back and thought, well OK, Hansen has left Archewell so she can get back to Rumi's values of "true/necessary/kind" seeing as H&M seem to specialise in what is not true, necessary or kind.

Except that the very essence of Hollywood PR, their daily bread and butter is, as others have pointed out, puff pieces (so not necessary), spin (twisting the truth), and ever-so-subtle mud-slinging/deflection (so not being very kind...)

Time line:

Hansen starts job in May 2022. Two others have already had this role since 2020.

By Dec 2023 she’s looking for freelance work (times)

US weekly article states she had extended time off

Kyle Boulia starts as official press secretary (Hansen was global press secretary) in April 2024

HR article with staff speaking out Sept 2024

Hansen quits Oct 2024

I think between Dec 23 and now, Hansen possibly been off sick, stepping back. Hiring Kyle Boulia was clearly to replace Hansen.

If Hansen has been recovering from major surgery, she could have been out for months and months. So she quit in reality a while ago.

So if she stepped back in December, that would have given a few months to hire her replacement. They hired borne Charlie Gipson and Kylie Boulia in April 2024. She’s then been in some sort of handover period probably between recovery from surgery, now she’s gone.

The redacted Times article muddies the timeliness which makes it more interesting

If it's to be believed at all, @JADS, it's also phrased that the woman "is leaving" rather than has left, so I guess it's possible she kept being reeled back in - especially if there really aren't any other clients yet

I agree, though, that the whole thing looks terrible, but then so does everything else around this couple

Except she isnt gone - shes still highly involved:

"she plans to continue her work with Meghan and Harry and their communications team across their Archewell Foundation, business endeavors, and media projects."

Also this comment is confusing:

“We look forward to having her focused expertise on our business and creative projects and her continued oversight of our communications team.' - isnt that what she has already been doing for the past 2 years?

And also this comment:

Since relocating to the US in 2020, Meghan has been investing in women-owned businesses and she considers Hansen’s new venture part of her growing portfolio,

So is MM a financial backer of in this new business? Is MM expanding into PR? Bringing the wealth of her exprtise and experience?

Where’s Kate?

I this was investing means in this context is that Archewell/Meghan will pay her fees to use her services now she’s set up her own agency?

Not sure - the phrase 'part of her growing portfolio' to me would suggest otherwise - as a similar engagement for service provision wouldnt be classed as 'part of her growing portfolio' - eg her hairdresser, make-up artist, tax accountant. Also its said in the context of her other investments:

"Since relocating to the US in 2020, Meghan has been investing in women-owned businesses and she considers Hansen’s new venture part of her growing portfolio, which also includes accessories brand Cesta Collective, beverage brand Clevr, and more."

To be very cynical, maybe Meghan has paid her a settlement sum as part of an exit agreement, in return for which they’ll say what nothing but glowing things about each other publicly? And she’s using that sum to invest in her business?

Anyway, it could well be all hot air, we will never know!

TBH @Gloop it just suggests to me an attempt to seize the narrative and spin it into something it may not be

Faced with a choice of "another one bites the dust" and "Ooooo look, Meghan's an entrepreneur with a portfolio, and she's empowering women to set up their own businesses" there was never much doubt which one would be chosen

Apologies did not mean to link these articles - seems they were embedded on the text that I cut and pasted from the VF article.

Yes @Serenster I suspect there are lots of strings attached.

Its all rather gauche - shockingly unprofessional and unsophisticated PR - clearly driven directly by MM - though AH is not covering herself in glory if she can be 'bought' to cover up bullying or maybe she is a victim of it also and has been trying to extricate herself from the situation for some time?

but most profoundly to me, Meghan would personally reach out to my husband daily to make sure that we both were OK and had support,” she adds. “It meant so much to him and even more to me. You don’t realize how much that kind of kindness and thought means until you need it

Call me cynical, but I'm wondering what sort of profound effect it had on her.

Ringing her husband daily? "that kind of kindness"?

Call me more cynical, but I was wondering if this announcement means that full time work for Archewell is no longer sufficient (either for career or for the amount it pays) hence the gradual exit stage left.

What is means for her future career will all depend on what the wider perception of Archewell and its founders becomes in the post HR era. I don't really like the term "Sussex survivors club" as I think it's a bit of a cheap shot at them. But it certainly exists and what it means to be part of it has changed of late.

Ringing her husband daily? "that kind of kindness"?

Quite EdithWeston. I pointed out on another thread that that section of the US Weekly puff piece was also a massive tell about what kind of a boss Meghan actually is.

It’s spun as she’s incredibly kind and caring, yet what she’s actually doing is verging on harassment - calling the husband of her employee every day while the employee is on a lengthy period of sick leave. That’s a massive overstepping of her role as an employer and shows she really does have no boundaries when it comes to her staff.

I've never understood why they need all this 'staff', or how they can afford them.

Chief of Staff?

Global Press Secretary?

It's so grandiose. Neither of the Sussexes does very much of anything. At most they need the part time services of a PR professional working for an agency. They don't need their own 'global press secretary'.

I suspect the same sort of comically inflated sense of their own importance influences the whole 'security' thing. It's more about ego and status than it is about security.

France has banned bosses contacting their employees outside of work time

I think they are trying to introduce something here too.

She crosses peoples boundaries in a show of power, to show how important she is . That will be why she emails at 5am, sends doggy packages to people’s home because she hears on the grapevine they got a dog. Skin kits because they mentioned they had dry skin. It’s such odd behaviour and oversteps personal boundaries.

These puff pieces designed to make her look like a ‘nice’ boss….but she comes across as unprofessional and honestly….creepy AF

It’s spun as she’s incredibly kind and caring, yet what she’s actually doing is verging on harassment - calling the husband of her employee every day while the employee is on a lengthy period of sick leave. That’s a massive overstepping of her role as an employer and shows she really does have no boundaries when it comes to her staff.

Suggests lot of mess up boundaries.

DH had a boss only person in my entire life I ever felt was a true narcissist who really left him stressed did similar when he was seriously hurt.

Rang up trying to make out she was being nice as covered for demanding something off his laptop - I had no fucks left to give felt let down by everyone mid building a bed for downstairs which need 2 adults to make with chair and my 3 year in point of day baby was asleep - limited time frame lots of stress - she got no, unfortunate but not my problem, no idea, I don't work for you, no that won't be happening - utterly bemused her but she fairly easy to deal with.

Then she visited week later just turned up at the door with DH in bed with male colleague - I knew nether man could stand the woman but were busy being matey - they got tea and nos from me when DH wasn't firm enough pushing back both men seemed shocked. She wasn't there for our benefit so I saw no reason to be ultra accommodating and jump when she wanted stuff so why go along with charade of niceness she again was surprised and bemused but left.

So do wonder why the husband wasn't saying fuck off ringing me every fucking day - so assume some sort of social pressure must have been applied to him as well.

Or it was a situation like that of Samantha Cohen's where her replacement didn't last?

The whole thing is very very weird. Palace PR seems so sane in comparison.

Dont intend to derail but came across this little nugget in one of the links shared earlier - it was an article about Sunshine Sachs being let go by H&M:

Sunchine Sachs consolidated their move to the US, with senior partner (and Meghan's friend) Keleigh Thomas Morgan using her own contacts to network for the couple, even putting them up in her client, actor Tyler Perry's home while the two were first house-hunting.

Was the story not that TP just saw the trauma MM experienced at the hands of the RF and rode in like a knight in shining armour to scoop them up and offer them a sanctury?

Seems like they were all scratching each others backs / cutting deals. Wasnt there a suggestion that TP was commercially tied up with OW who had been sniffing around and grooming H&M for an interview for years ?

That could easily be the case, JADS - frankly I'm way past being surprised at anything where these two are concerned, and as others have wisely said the dysfunction is no longer a temporary bug but a feature

Usual MM fluffy sugar coated lies surrounding a huge pile of bullshit ... she's just out for herself ... always - the end

I came here to make the same point another poster already has about the irony of this:

"The name of the company derives from the Persian poet Rumi - 'Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates. Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?'"

OMG!

Delusional and grandiose as ever.

Add on their other classic behaviours of entitlement and arrogance and you have the 4 headed horsemen of narcisisim.

Yes, all the lala twee " Three Gates" stuff is total nonsense when applied to Hollywood PR, a profession that I'm pretty sure makes the hated British media look like Santa's elves.

All this coverage seems to be speeding up, IMO, and not in a good way for them.

People magazine. H&M trying to explain their new move

So now they are individuals:

“An entrepreneurial and enterprise focus is going to be more the Duchess’s priority and the Duke will continue to champion his not-for-profit patronages,

https://people.com/meghan-markle-prince-harry-new-dynamic-twin-track-exclusive-8722498

Remember when:

• Megan said “That’s me and Harry. We’re like salt and pepper. We always move together.”
• Harry sneered that his family can’t work together but he and Meghan can, cos they are special, in the H&M docu

Its all unravelling