New role: Princess Beatrice
Princess Beatrice has been appointed as director of a community of members dedicated to nurturing British entrepreneurs.
The princess, ninth in line to the throne, was previously a patron of start-up Opus, but has been given a board seat at the for-profit group, which calls itself an “opportunity community.”
The appointment, broken by Sky News, came as Opus announced its six-figure seed funding round and further backing from corporate bigwigs including Miguel McKelvey, co-founder of WeWork, and Adam Marshall, the former director-general of the UK Chambers of Commerce.
Opus, which has more than 250 members in London, hopes to build a “highly vetted network of emerging leaders.” Princess Beatrice said she was “excited” to continue her work with the group.
Sam Tidswell-Norrish, Founder of Opus, said: “Princess Beatrice’s energy and passion in shaping the Opus mission from the very beginning has been essential and something for which I am deeply grateful.”
Prince Andrew’s eldest daughter previously served as vice president of partnerships and strategy at technology company Afiniti, representing it at major events including the 2019 Davos meeting of world leaders.
But the company made headlines in 2021 after its founder became embroiled in a sexual misconduct scandal while the princess was on maternity leave. David Cameron, the former Prime Minister, resigned as Afiniti’s adviser after the row.
It is the first UK project McKelvey has been involved in since he left WeWork in 2020, when it was embroiled in controversy after co-founder and CEO Adam Neumann was ousted in 2019 by investors frustrated with his management.
On his appointment to the board of directors, McKelvey said: ‘In my experience, communities can be magical places, but capturing the spirit of a community takes a huge investment of time, energy and passion.
“Based on past experience, the vision for Opus resonates with me and building a powerful community of emerging leaders coming together with and for each other is an exciting prospect.”
