Meghan Markle Makes Critical Hire with Surprising Ties to Bill Gates

The Duchess of Sussex is adding to her team to help navigate a “dynamic period of growth.”

• Meghan Markle has made a critical hire for her first-ever chief of staff.
• Sarah Fosmo is a former assistant to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and has also worked for motivational speaker Tony Robbins in the past.
• Fosmo will help lead Meghan through a “dynamic period of growth” with the launches this year of the Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle brand As Ever, Netflix series With Love, Meghan, and podcast “Confessions of a Female Founder.”

Meghan Markle’s business ventures are in a “dynamic period of growth,” and to help her manage it all, the Duchess of Sussex has made a surprising new hire.

According to The Telegraph, Meghan has appointed Bill Gates’ former assistant as her new chief of staff. Sarah Fosmo will serve as Meghan’s “most senior adviser,” according to the outlet, and will help her with projects like her As Ever lifestyle brand, “Confessions of a Female Founder” podcast, and Netflix series With Love, Meghan. Fosmo is the Duchess of Sussex’s first-ever chief of staff.

Meanwhile, for Prince Harry, The Telegraph reported that Lianne Cashin, a former executive assistant and Harry and Meghan’s head of operations for their nonprofit Archewell, has been promoted to a senior consultant role. The Telegraph reported that the “exceptional” new employees will be the right fit to take on the next chapter of the couple’s “ambitious ventures.”

“Sarah and Lianne exemplify the strength and vision driving the Duke and Duchess forward,” a source told the publication.

Fosmo described herself as “an accomplished professional with an extensive, long-tenured career managing complex, high-stakes operations for ultra-high net worth individuals.” She added that she was “adept at navigating high-pressure environments while maintaining a warm, approachable presence and representing principals with poise and professionalism.” She worked at Gates Ventures—Gates’ private office—for six years, and before that worked for seven years for motivational speaker Tony Robbins as a senior executive assistant. Cashin, for her part, previously worked as a personal assistant to professional snowboarder Shaun White.

A source speaking to The Telegraph said Fosmo’s “expertise and steady leadership are critical” to this next chapter for Meghan, and that Cashin provided “deep operational insight for key projects.”