The man in the glasses in the above photo is Dominic Reid, CEO of the Invictus Games. He was seated next to the Duchess of Sussex at the Dusseldorf Invictus Games’ closing ceremony. He was also in London in May when Prince Harry visited and attended the Invictus tenth-anniversary service at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Reid has been CEO of the games since Invictus’s founding in 2014. He has successfully managed six Invictus games through a lot of crazy times. He’s built something to last and he’s grown the games year by year. Now Reid has announced his retirement. It sounds like it’s happening in consultation with Harry and everyone else, as in, Reid has not “blindsided” anyone.

Prince Harry is praising a faithful leader of his groundbreaking mission for veterans and armed forces members. Dominic Reid, the CEO who led the Invictus Games from its inception, says he will stand down as it “is the time for someone new to take this vital movement forward into its second vigorous decade.”

The Duke of Sussex, 39, paid tribute to Reid for what he had done to help take the Invictus Games from its first iteration in London in 2014 to the world stage.

“Ten years on from the inception of the Invictus Games, we proudly stand as a community of 23 nations spanning every continent, fulfilling our mission of saving and changing lives,” Harry said in a statement. “I am immensely grateful to my friend Dominic, whose dedication and leadership transformed the Invictus Games from an ambitious idea to an internationally recognized movement.”

In his thanks, Harry added praise for Reid’s “decade of relentless service to the Invictus Games Foundation.” “What a journey it has been, and how fortunate we are to work with such an incredible community of people. We pray we don’t need the Games for another ten years, but thanks to you, the team and our future CEO, we will be ready.”

Reid outlined in his statement that they initially thought the Paralympic-style competition for veterans and service personnel might be a one-off event. “But the unstable geopolitical landscape we now inhabit makes it vital that our work continues well into the future, as more and more service personnel are wounded every day,” he said. “Our global community continues to demonstrate the impact of Invictus across the world. We have established legacy programs with Invictus Australia and Invictus Germany.”

Reid added that he is “pleased to have set the [Invictus Games] Foundation on a solid footing and to have built an outstanding team which is drawn in part from the community we serve.”

“It has been a privilege to work closely with Prince Harry to deliver his vision of an international sporting event for those who have served, and for their families and friends. His concept, passion, and drive have been instrumental in our success, in particular by focussing attention on mental health in sports rehabilitation,” Reid said. He added, “It has been an honor to build and work with an incredible, dedicated and high-functioning team whom I count as friends and not just colleagues. And to establish and develop this global movement which now has 23 member nations and a presence on every continent.”

[From People]

Again, it does not sound like there was some kind of drama behind-the-scenes. The official Invictus social media even says outright that Reid is staying on through the Whistler games next year. By announcing it now, they’re controlling the narrative around his departure and they’ll be grooming the next CEO, probably concurrently with the preparations for the Whistler games. Of course the British media is trying to create drama, but from what I’m seeing, they can’t even muster up some fake sources to claim that Reid is mad at Harry or whatever. A decade is a long time, especially when you came in at the start and built everything from the ground up. It will be interesting to see who takes the CEO position after this. Oh, and when are they going to announce where the next games will be held? It’s between Birmingham, England and DC. I mean, I guess they’re waiting until after the election? Yikes.

While he isn't going anywhere just yet (we've got the @InvictusGames25 to look forward to!), our CEO Dominic Reid OBE shares his intention to step down as CEO after a decade in the role.

"Thank you, Dominic, for a decade of relentless service to the Invictus Games Foundation.… pic.twitter.com/2QlukY7rhq

— Invictus Games Foundation 💛🖤 (@WeAreInvictus) July 19, 2024

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.