Meghan Markle appoints herself as CEO for American Riviera Orchard after being unable to find candidate: report
After an arduous search for the CEO of American Riviera Orchard, Meghan Markle has landed on the perfect candidate: herself.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, has appointed herself as the CEO of her lifestyle brand, which has yet to be released, after struggling to find a suitable candidate for the role, the Daily Mail reports.
Markle had been interviewing prospective employees for months, the outlet adds, after announcing the brand’s impending launch earlier this year.
But in August, it emerged that the “Suits” alum was “struggling” to find a suitable candidate for the position.
“She is the CEO of American Riviera Orchard,” a source told the outlet’s columnist, Richard Eden. In April, a source told the outlet, “The initial CEO search has not panned out so far.”
The former actress unveiled her new business venture in March. But nine months later, there’s still no release date or information about the products that customers can expect to be up for sale.
According to the outlet, the struggle in appointing a CEO has been largely due to ongoing negotiations with Netflix about a partnership with American Riviera Orchard.
“This is something new for Netflix,” an insider told the outlet. “It would run the lifestyle business with Meghan, developing products as spin-offs from her show. If a partnership is agreed, it’s likely that Netflix would install its own CEO to run operations.”
The Post has reached out to Markle’s reps for comment.
Markle has faced a slew of ongoing trademark troubles while trying to get her company off the ground, prompting her to last week request a three-month extension from the US Patent and Trademark Office to secure a trademark for the brand.
If Markle and her team miss the next deadline, she will be forced to kickstart the application process from scratch.
Her extension request comes just one month after the company was slapped with yet another trademark snafu when rival lifestyle brand Harry & David filed a protest against American Riviera Orchard, claiming the name is far too similar to its “Royal Riviera” product line.
And in September, the mom of two’s trademark application was refused by the USPTO, who warned that businesses cannot trademark geographical locations.
Earlier this year, she and Prince Harry were dealt a fresh blow after their chief of staff, Josh Kettler, quit after just three months on the job.
The reason for Kettler’s departure was revealed in August — just one day before he was due to accompany the Sussexes on their trip to Colombia.
He was the 18th staffer working for the couple to hand in his resignation over the past four years.
