The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have brought on Meredith Maines as their first chief communications officer, Axios exclusively reports.

• Why it matters: Perhaps no couple makes more headlines or receives more public scrutiny than the Sussexes, and Maines will be tasked with managing their reputation as well as the reputation of their expanding business portfolio.

Context: As CCO, Maines will oversee communications for Prince Harry and Meghan, their brand footprint and nonprofit endeavors.

• Shahed Fakhari Larson, founder of UNLMTD Partners and former CMO at Coatue, has also been hired as outside strategic communications counsel in support of their tech and business ventures.

Catch up quick: Maines joins Team Sussex from Lightspeed Venture Partners, where she served as the firm's first marketing partner, overseeing communications and brand strategy, and advised Lightspeed's portfolio companies.

• Before Lightspeed, Maines ran communications at Hulu and worked as a talent manager for "American Idol." She started her career at Google, helping to launch its search products.

Between the lines: Maines' hire comes amid the pending launch of Meghan's new company, As Ever, and shortly after Prince Harry's main stage speech at the Upfront venture capital summit.

What to watch: The duke has made several private investments in recent years, including his investment in coaching platform BetterUp, and he is reportedly eyeing ventures that support veterans, mental health and online safety.

• The Duchess of Sussex's new Netflix series, "With Love, Meghan," premiered on March 4, while the launch of her lifestyle company is expected to follow this spring.

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Rachel Whetstone has joined Sierra, the AI startup founded by former Salesforce CEO and current OpenAI chair Bret Taylor and former Google executive Clay Bavor, Axios exclusively reports.

• Why it matters: Whetstone previously led communications for four of the fastest-growing companies of the past 40 years. She will be tasked with positioning Sierra to disrupt the customer service space.

Details: Whetstone will oversee all communications for the startup, which builds custom AI agents for enterprise customer service and is valued at $4.5 billion.

Between the lines: This is Whetstone's first time working for a startup and as a team of one.

• "It's about how comms can help create a strong brand for a new company in a busy space, generate interest and excitement from potential customers and future employees, and build momentum for the business," she said.
• Then it's about finding "new and interesting ways to repeat that message over and over again," she added. "Repetition never spoils the prayer."

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• The Atlantic: Nick Miroff and Isaac Stanley-Becker are staff writers; Alex Hoyt is a senior editor.
• Axios: Tal Axelrod is an editorial researcher; Geoffrey Ziezulewicz is Midwest editor; and Christine Wang is media editor
• CNN: Marshall Cohen is a senior reporter; Fadel Allassan is a weekend editor.
• The Bulwark: Will Sommer is a senior reporter.
• Fortune: Ben Weiss is a crypto reporter.
• HuffPost: Whitney Snyder is editor-in-chief.
• MSNBC: Jacqueline Alemany is a Washington correspondent and co-host of "The Weekend on MSNBC"; Scott Matthews is senior vice president of news gathering.
• NBC News: Gordon Lubold is a national security reporter
• Newsmax: Patrick Reap is the booker for "The Record with Greta Van Susteren."
• NewsNation: Chris Cillizza is a contributor.
• New York Magazine: Erik Maza is editor-at-large; Ben Terris is Washington correspondent; Rachel Corbett, David Freedlander, and Rebecca Jennings are features writers.
• The New York Times: Mohana Ravindranath is a health reporter; Tony Romm is an economic policy correspondent; Andrea Fuller, Irena Hwang and Steven Rich are data reporters; and Caroline Kitchener will cover the Trump administration's impact on American families.
• Politico: Samuel Benson is food and agriculture policy reporter; Gigi Ewing is a breaking news reporter; Tyler Katzenberger will co-author the California tech newsletter.
• Quartz: Josh Fellman is staff editor, markets & finance.
• Reuters: Emily Green is chief correspondent for Mexico and Central America.
• The Washington Post: Benjy Sarlin joins the opinion desk; Marianne LeVine is an immigration reporter.
• Wired: Manisha Krishnan is a senior culture editor.