Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Appoint Former Employee of Bill Gates to New Role

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have appointed two of their longtime staffers to new roles.

The Duchess of Sussex, 43, and the Duke of Sussex, 40, have tapped Sarah Fosmo as their office’s chief of staff and Lianne Cashin as adviser, PEOPLE understands.

Fosmo is overseeing Meghan during a period of immense change and growth in her career, with the recent launch of her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, and podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, as well as the rebrand of her lifestyle company, As ever. 

Fosmo was previously an employee of Bill Gates, according to her LinkedIn profile. She worked for the Microsoft co-founder’s office for nearly six years, and left the company in December 2024 — the same month she joined Harry and Meghan’s team, per LinkedIn.

Her LinkedIn profile describes her as an “accomplished professional with an extensive, long-tenured career managing complex, high-stakes operations for Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWIs).”

It also notes that she is “adept at navigating high-pressure environments” and “trusted with confidential matters.”

Cashin, meanwhile, was previously the executive assistant to Josh Kettler, Harry’s former chief of staff.

Kettler started in his role just a week before the couple’s official visit to Nigeria in May 2024, and left the position three months later, PEOPLE reported at the time. Hired on a trial basis, the decision to part ways was mutual, with both sides agreeing it wasn’t the right fit.

Previously, Cashin worked for another big name: Shaun White. She was a personal assistant to the pro snowboarder — even making appearances in a 2014 New York Times profile of the Olympian.

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Fosmo is not the first member of Harry and Meghan’s staff to have previous ties to Gates. Their former chief of staff, Catherine St-Laurent, worked for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation prior to working with Meghan and Harry to steer the Archewell Foundation in early 2020.

St-Laurent later told The Cut in 2021 that working with the couple “was an incredible experience.”

“They are incredibly talented and creative leaders,” the former employee said at the time. “I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to do that, to be able to be with them on their journey. The time that I spent with them was incredibly fulfilling.”