Teneo boss steps down after drunken misconduct allegations
The boss of PR firm Teneo has today resigned as chairman and chief executive after claims of drunken misconduct at a star-studded fundraising concert.
Declan Kelly, who founded the comms firm back in 2011, today issued a statement confirming he was stepping down with immediate effect.
He had already been stripped of his role on the board of campaign group Global Citizen, which organised the concert from which the allegations emerged.
In a statement, Kelly said: “On 2 May I made an inadvertent, public and embarrassing mistake for which I took full responsibility and apologized to those directly affected, as well as my colleagues and clients.
“A campaign against the reputation of our firm has followed and may even continue in the coming days. However, regardless of the veracity of any such matters I do not want them to be an ongoing distraction to the running of our company.
“In order to protect the employees of Teneo and its clients, and with my family’s strong support, I have decided to leave the company and resign as Chairman and CEO.”
Teneo thanked Kelly for his service and said that co-founder and chief operating officer Paul Keary would take over.
The concert, which was organised by Global Citizen, was chaired by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and featured performances by artists including Jennifer Lopez.
The Financial Times reported that Kelly behaved inappropriately at a party linked to the concert. This behaviour is said to have included the non-consensual touching of women.