I feel like people stopped giving credibility to celebrity endorsement in the traditional form because they know celebrities are just getting paid to read a script, so companies had to come up with something that signals a deeper relationship with the brand, and that something is this phony C-level position. The celebrities also benefit from being able to add "entrepreneur" to their Instagram bios. I believe this trend started with Intel and it's "Chief Innovation Officer" (or something like that) Will.i.am a couple of years ago

When I see stuff like that, I instantly take the company less seriously or ignore them unless the person in charge is someone eccentric like Elon. At least he is capable of running his company in a ruthlessly effective way even with wonky titles and shenanigans.

Yes, that's what it is.

I don't know what a Chief Impact Officer is.

However, Harry is not a "former" prince - he is still Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and sixth in line to the throne.

"chief X officer" seems to be the new "director" or "VP" type title.

A way to give a C-suite job to someone who was "homeschooled", has a degree from an online school she is a "brand ambassador" for, and zero professional experience.