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General Motors has left Teneo as its public relations consultant, and has deepened the crisis taken by the company after chief executive Declan Kelly complained that he had improperly touched women at a fundraising event.
Teneo is trying to reassure its multinational clients, top advisors and 1,200 employees after the Financial Times newspaper revealed on Thursday that Kelly Citizen had been fired from the leadership of the nonprofit Global Citizen team and left Teneon with some of his responsibilities after the incident. which happened on May 2nd.
On Friday evening, however, GM cut ties. “After some discussion, General Motors has decided not to work with Teno,” the automaker told FT.
GM is the first customer to reveal that it has stopped working with Teneo due to allegations, and has raised concerns about attracting Kelly as Kelly’s disproportionate CEO. Teneo recently won a GM account and Kelly Mary Barra was advising her CEO.
Global Citizen hosted an event full of celebrities. According to three people who knew the subject, Kelly touched several women inappropriately without their permission. The next day he removed Kelly from management and has since severed ties with Teneo, according to two people who knew the subject.
Until when FT story, Information about Kelly’s actions and subsequent assignment of certain obligations was not widely disseminated within Teneo and except for older employees.
The revelation has put pressure on the private equity group CVC, which in 2019 bought a majority stake in the business for $ 350 million. The deal valued Teneo at more than $ 700 million.
Christopher Stadler, who runs CVC’s business in North America and manages the company’s investment in Teneo, is also the president of Global Citizen.
According to information on the subject, Kelly’s alleged misconduct occurred at the Stadler Global Citizen event. Stadler and CVC declined to comment.
Global Citizen told FT on Thursday, “Global Citizen was informed of what happened on May 3 and Declan Kelly was removed from management on May 3.”
Stadler himself has confronted women for touching them inappropriately. In a 2016 case of gender discrimination against a former CVC employee, she allegedly “caught”, “hugged” and “caressed” the female employee. The CVC denied the allegations and the case was later resolved.
Teneo, which is named as a senior management consulting firm, has become an influential and well-connected strategy and communications business since its inception in 2011 by Kelly and Doug Band, former aides to US President Bill Clinton.
The company’s customer list has been profitable with Fortune 500 companies including Dow Chemical, General Electric, Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines. Much of the work done for them is based on the issues of reputable names, and has entered the broader trend of companies that want to present themselves as responsible social actors.
Other customers who contacted the Financial Times declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.
Kelly, who was considered a whispering CEO who was able to help the world’s largest companies in their reputable crises, apologized in a conference call on Thursday to his top management. He also sent a note to the staff saying that he had taken responsibility for his actions.
The remarks echoed comments from Kelly’s spokeswoman, who told FT on Thursday that she was “overwhelmed” by the incident and was now “committed to simplicity” and was “constantly advising health professionals.”
On Friday, Teneo called for reports from his top advisers in the UK – a list of former home secretary Amber Rudd and former UK Conservative party leader William Hague – who had not previously been informed of the alleged misconduct. One person in attendance said, “It was a call, but he was asking questions and no one was answering.”
In the U.S., the group’s advisers include former House of Representatives spokesman Paul Ryan and interim CEO Andrew Liveris, Dow Chemical, former Xerox chief Ursula Burns, and political figures like Ginni. Rometty, former IBM chief.
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