William Hague gets new private sector role with Teneo
Former foreign secretary William Hague has taken a high-profile new job in the private sector.
Hague, who was leader of the Conservative party from 1997 to 2001, has joined Teneo Holdings, an international business consultancy with ties to former US president Bill Clinton and former prime minister Tony Blair, the Sunday Times reported yesterday.
The New York-based firm advises top clients, including executives from Coca-Cola, UBS, Standard Chartered, Dow Chemical and Alibaba, reportedly charging a monthly retainer fee of up to $250,000. It has 12 offices, including one in London, and counts former Standard Chartered chairman and chief executive Lord Davies among its senior advisors.
According to its website, the firm addresses “a wide range of financial, reputational and transformational challenges and opportunities by combining the disciplines of strategic communications, investor relations, investment banking, financial analytics, executive recruiting, digital analytics, corporate governance, government affairs, business intelligence, management consulting and corporate restructuring.”
Hague stepped down as an MP at the General Election after 26 years of working in the House of Commons. Before starting his parliamentary career, Hague worked as a management consultant at McKinsey and earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from INSEAD.
Hague announced last July that he would be leaving electoral politics to make room for newer voices within the Conservative party.
Since then, he has given little indication of what his post-politics career would look like, only saying that he would continue working to end sexual violence, a cause he has championed with actress Angelina Jolie.
It remains unclear what exact position Hague will hold at Teneo. A representative from the firm could not be reached for comment.
WHO IS TENEO?
Teneo Holdings is a relative newcomer to the consultancy game, having been founded four years ago by Declan Kelly, Doug Band and Paul Keary. Kelly, a former US special envoy to Northern Ireland, was previously chief investment officer at FTI Consulting, while Band used to be chief advisor to US president Bill Clinton.
The company employs more than 250 people in 12 countries, across six different business units: strategy, capital, intelligence, financial strategy, consulting and restructuring. Its senior advisors include a former US special envoy to the Middle East, the former chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the former chief executive of SunGard.
The firm received a boost earlier this year when the private equity firm BC Partners bought a minority stake for an undisclosed amount.