diff --git a/src/agents/athena/council-orchestrator.ts b/src/agents/athena/council-orchestrator.ts
index 3630fa426..ae9a5b4cd 100644
--- a/src/agents/athena/council-orchestrator.ts
+++ b/src/agents/athena/council-orchestrator.ts
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ export async function executeCouncil(input: CouncilExecutionInput): Promise<Coun
 
     failures.push({
       member,
-      error: `Launch failed: ${String(result.reason)}`,
+      error: `Launch failed: ${result.reason instanceof Error ? result.reason.message : String(result.reason)}`,
     })
   })