Who are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s team members at Archewell?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle today faced questions over whether they are taking advice from the right people – or even listening to what they are saying.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have prompted a series of rows over the last week after Meghan’s first Spotify podcast and a lengthy interview with The Cut.

The Duchess made veiled criticisms of royal aides in the podcast, saying she had to carry on with a South Africa tour despite a fire breaking out in son Archie’s room. And in The Cut, she warned she could ‘say anything’ now that she has left The Firm.

Royal expert Phil Dampier told MailOnline this afternoon that many people are now asking ‘who is advising them and why are they making so many PR blunders’.

The commentator said he believes the problem is that they are ‘simply not taking the advice given to them’, adding: ‘Meghan very much wants to be in control.’

Mr Dampier said that ‘either their PR people are bad at their job’ or ‘they are ignoring them’, adding that the couple are ‘making a big mistake’ in the long run.

Among their most important staff are Archewell executive director James Holt, president Mandana Dayani and senior strategic advisor Genevieve Roth.

Others who will be giving the Sussexes advice include communications chiefs Ashley Momtaheni and Christine Schirmer, and business manager Andrew Meyer.

Meanwhile audio chief Rebecca Sananes and content director Ben Browning are both involved in the ‘Archetypes’ Spotify podcasts which launched last week.

Here, MailOnline looks at eight members of the team at Archewell in California:

JAMES HOLT – Executive Director 

James Holt

James Holt is one of Prince Harry’s longest-serving team members, having led communications for the Royal Foundation from October 2017, when it was run by Harry along with Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Mr Holt, who has previously worked for the Liberal Democrats, also acted as Harry and Meghan Markle’s UK spokesman and took on the role of executive director of the Archewell Foundation in March 2020.

He has a BA degree in journalism from the University of Lincoln, and became head of media for the Lib Dems in 2010, a role in which he stayed until 2013.

Mr Holt also worked as special adviser to deputy prime minister Nick Clegg before becoming his head of communications.

And he took on the voluntary position of communications director for Pride in London between 2016 and 2017.

MANDANA DAYANI – President of Archewell

Mandana Dayani

Harry and Meghan hired tech and media executive Mandana Dayani as their new president in June last year.

The Iranian-born activist had worked as a talent agent and vice president at the fashion and media firm Rachel Zoe. She was also the creator of I Am A Voter, which encourages voter participation.

Ms Dayani is well-versed in podcasts, having hosted a show alongside Will & Grace actress Debra Messing in which she interviewed celebrities and politicians including Hillary Clinton.

Having been born in Tehran in 1982, she later fled Iran with her family to Ladispoli in Italy before travelling to the US as a refugee. 

She settled in New York before moving to Los Angeles and attending the University of Southern California, where she achieved her BA and went on to earn a further degree from the USC Gould School of Law.

BEN BROWNING – Head of Content

Ben Browning

Ben Browning is helping the Sussexes on their lucrative deals – thought to be worth well over £100million – with Spotify and Netflix.

The head of content for Archewell Productions and Archewell Audio is a veteran producer who has worked on films including The Big Sick, Arrival, Room and Late Night.

He won a Bafta award in April last year for his role in Promising Young Woman, starring Carey Mulligan. Mr Browning also previously worked as an executive producer on HBO’s I Know This Much Is True, which starred Mark Ruffalo.

When joining Archewell in March 2021, he said Harry and Meghan had ‘founded a next-generation production company with best-in-class distribution partners in Netflix and Spotify, a clear agenda to inform and entertain, and an unparalleled global reach’.

Mr Browning attended The King’s School Canterbury in Kent from 1994 to 1996, where fees are £13,655 per term for boarding, 

ASHLEY MOMTAHENI – Executive VP, Global Communications 

Ashley Momtaheni

Ashley Momtaheni is one of the Sussexes’ most recent hires, having taken over as Archewell executive vice president for global communications just three months ago on May 30.

The public relations veteran joined Harry and Meghan’s team from Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, where she was the vice president of global communications and media relations.

She also previously worked as director of corporate communications at United Talent Agency, and as head of communications for Annapurna Pictures.

Ms Momtaheni started her career at Warner Bros and also previously worked on ABC’s Good Morning America as a producer.

REBECCA SANANES – Head of Audio

Rebecca Sananes

Rebecca Sananes is one of the main Archewell employees involved in Meghan’s new Spotify podcast series, ‘Archetypes’.

She is executive producer on the show, although only officially joined Archewell earlier this month.

Ms Sananes was previously lead podcast producer of Pivot, a show by Vox Media and New York magazine – the latter of which is the publisher of The Cut, the publication Meghan gave another bombshell interview to this week.

Ms Sananes, who worked in public radio in the US before joining Pivot, reports to Archewell’s head of content Ben Browning.

CHRISTINE WEIL SCHIRMER – Head of Communications

Christine Weil Schirmer

Christine Weil Schirmer is considered to be one of Silicon Valley’s top public relations gurus and was hired by Harry and Meghan in November 2020 to boost their global image.

The couple’s head of communications graduated in 2000 with a journalism degree from Northwestern University – the same institution where the Duchess studied.

Ms Schirmer was raised in Long Island, New York, to parents Ken and Christine, both librarians, before moving to the San Francisco Bay area as her career took off.

The married mother-of-one has been praised for her work with tech companies such as Apple and Pinterest before joining Archewell.

A source previously told The Mail on Sunday that it was ‘quite possible’ that Meghan and Ms Schirmer crossed paths at Northwestern.

GENEVIEVE ROTH – Senior Strategic Advisor

Genevieve Roth

Genevieve Roth is the founder and president of Invisible Hand, a social impact organisation, through which she is the senior strategic advisor to Archewell.

She previously served as the director of ‘creative engagement’ for the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and produced the Glamour Women of the Year Awards.

Born and raised in Alaska, Ms Roth is the former features director of Marie Claire Australia and also held editorial positions at GQ and Esquire.

The mother-of-one wrote in 2020 that she realised she was ‘rife with internalised racism’ after marrying her black husband Jordan Keith, who is the founder of a shopping app.

ANDREW MEYER – Business Manager

Andrew Meyer

Andrew Meyer is a long-serving advisor to Meghan, after she retained him from the US when she first married Prince Harry.

He co-founded business management firm Freemark Financial and – as business manager for the Sussexes – is thought to have been behind many of Meghan’s ventures over the years.

Mr Meyer, who has an office in Beverley Hills in California, has also worked for the likes of Jon Chu, Anna Kendrick, Adam Driver, Kathryn Hahn, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ellen Pompeo.

He was among the guests at Harry and Meghan’s wedding at Windsor Castle in May 2018.

‘I suspect they are simply not taking the advice given to them’: PHIL DAMPIER on Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their team of advisors  

By PHIL DAMPIER FOR MAILONLINE

Harry and Meghan are starting to be ridiculed around the world for their recent outbursts. 

As politicians know, when you become a figure of fun, a joke, it’s time to stop digging a hole and making it worse. But I don’t see that happening.

The worst part about Meghan’s claims is that she never backs them up with facts or names names. 

The pair never named to so-called racist in the royal family who questioned Archie’s skin colour. They have given no examples of how she was treated as black when she became a royal.

They don’t name the members of the Press who used the N-word. It’s all throwing out wild accusations without any evidence. 

And then they lecture on green issues while taking private jets themselves.

Their popularity is plummeting everywhere, with the exception probably of injured veterans who take part in the Invictus Games. 

The question many are asking is who is advising them and why are they making so many PR blunders?

I suspect that the problem is that they are simply not taking the advice given to them. Meghan very much wants to be in control.

She seems hellbent on taking what she sees revenge on the royal family for not giving her what she wanted, and Harry is totally under her thumb.

Either their PR people are bad at their job, or, I repeat, they are ignoring them.

In the short term they are making a lot of money but in the long term I think they are making a big mistake. 

Their PR people might quit, but I suspect they would just get in another team who do what they say.