Multi-millionaire PR mogul and Tipperary hurling sponsor Declan Kelly has stepped back from some of his responsibilities as CEO and chair of Teneo, the strategy firm he co-founded, after drunkenly misbehaving at a charity event last month.
According to a statement put out by a spokesperson for the chief executive, Mr Kelly “became inebriated and behaved inappropriately towards women and men” at cocktail party for a fundraising concert hosted by Global Citizen on May 2.
The event, which was chaired by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and featured performances by Jennifer Lopez and Selena Gomez, was raising money for a global Covid vaccine campaign.
Mr Kelly has also resigned his board seat at Global Citizen, an anti-poverty charity chaired by Chris Stadler, the managing partner of CVC Capital Partners, the majority shareholder in Teneo.
Mr Kelly was asked for his resignation the day after the event.
The spokesperson’s statement said Mr Kelly regretted his actions and had apologised to those he had offended. It added that Mr Kelly had “temporarily reduced his work responsibilities”, was “committed to sobriety” and was “undertaking ongoing counselling from healthcare professionals”.
The Financial Times first reported news of Mr Kelly’s decision.
It is understood that Mr Kelly was not asked to give up his responsibilities, had made the decision himself and was continuing to do work.
He is due to return to work full-time in September and will retain his titles and leadership position in the firm. The ownership structure of Teneo will not be changing either, meaning Mr Kelly will be keeping his ownership stake.
Tipperary-born Mr Kelly, brother of Labour TD Alan Kelly, co-founded Teneo in 2011 along with Paul Keary and Clinton advisor Doug Band after a career in journalism and PR that started at the Nenagh Guardian.
After running Financial Dynamics in the US and work in corporate advisor FTI Consulting, Mr Kelly got to know Bill and Hillary Clinton via journalist Niall O’Dowd. He ultimately parlayed that relationship into a role as US economic envoy to Northern Ireland. Bill Clinton was an early advisor on Teneo’s books, along with former British prime minister Tony Blair.
Teneo has grown rapidly in the last decade through aggressive networking and numerous acquisitions into a major PR advisory and strategic consultancy with 1,100 employees and offices in New York, Dublin, London and other major cities.
CVC came on as a shareholder in 2017 when the private equity firm bought a majority stake in Teneo for a reported €309m from BC Partners, an earlier backer of the company.
That transaction valued the company at a reported $700m.
CVC increased that stake in February to enable Teneo to buy Deloitte's UK restructuring business in a €250m deal, expanding the business’s capabilities.
The firm boasts some of the biggest multinational corporations as clients and has several influential former politicians, including former US senator George Mitchell and former British home secretary Amber Rudd, on its payroll.
Mr Kelly’s LinkedIn profile states that he is “recognized in particular for his crisis management experience”.
In Ireland Teneo is deeply involved in sport, as well as acting as a public relations representative for several companies. Former Ireland rugby captain Brian O’Driscoll is an advisor and the firm sponsors Tipperary hurling.