UK Edition
Princess Beatrice wins her first high-profile client as a business matchmaker
Princess Beatrice has followed in the footsteps of her father the Duke of York by setting herself up as a business matchmaker and winning her first high-profile client in the shape of would-be stock market debutant Afiniti.
The Princess, 28, recently accompanied Afiniti’s founder, Zia Chishti, and his entourage to meetings and parties at the World Economic Forum in Davos, including to a lunch for many of the most senior figures in British business.
The company, which provides software for call centres, is courting investor interest as it explores a $2bn (£1.6bn) listing in New York. Mr Chishti previously co-founded and brought to market a company that makes transparent braces for teeth straightening.
Princess Beatrice joins a phalanx of high-profile individuals associated with Afiniti.
The company, which is headquartered in Washington DC, has assembled an advisory board of no fewer than 21 senior figures, including former BP chief executive Lord Browne, ex-BT boss Sir Peter Bonfield, former Thomson Reuters chief executive Tom Glocer and Admiral Michael Mullen, ex-chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Princess Beatrice, seventh in line to the throne, is pursuing a business career five years after graduating in history and the history of ideas at Goldsmiths College, London.
Like her father, she receives no direct taxpayer income from the Sovereign Grant. She worked briefly at Sandbridge Capital, a retail-focused venture capital firm in New York and previously as a production analyst at Sony Pictures.
The Duke of York’s business activities have repeatedly drawn controversy, particularly as he combined them with his official role as the Government’s special representative for trade and investment until 2011.
A spokesman for Afiniti declined to comment. Princess Beatrice’s spokesman confirmed that she is working in business, but declined to comment on the specifics of her role with Afiniti.