Teneo boss loses charity job after drunken antics at Prince Harry’s J-Lo concert
The head of PR behemoth Teneo has stepped down from the board of a charity following allegations of drunken misconduct at a star-studded fundraising concert.
Declan Kelly, chairman and chief executive of Teneo, has lost his board seat at campaign group Global Citizen after an alcohol-fuelled incident during the concert in May.
He has also relinquished some of his responsibilities at the PR group, which he co-founded in 2011.
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.
A spokesperson for Mr Kelly said: “Mr. Kelly attended the event on May 2nd in his capacity as a board member and speaker.
“At a large cocktail party that evening attended by dozens of people including Global Citizen board members and guests, Mr. Kelly became inebriated and behaved inappropriately towards some women and men at the event. He deeply regrets his actions and has personally apologized to the individuals he offended.
“Since the event two months ago Mr. Kelly immediately committed to sobriety, is undertaking ongoing counselling from healthcare professionals, and has temporarily reduced his work responsibilities. He has the full support of his family, colleagues, partners and friends.”
Global Citizen, a charity that aims to end extreme poverty by 2030, removed Kelly from its board the following day and is said to have opened an independent investigation into the matter.
The organisation is chaired by Christopher Stadler, an executive at CVC Partners who led a $350m deal to take a majority stake in Teneo in 2019.
Kelly, who previously served as an adviser to Hillary Clinton, was one of the organisers of the concert, which was designed to raise support for the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines worldwide.
It featured messages from Pope Francis and US President Joe Biden and was hosted by pop star Selena Gomez.
Kelly remains chairman and chief executive at Teneo but is said to have handed some responsibilities to other members of the global management committee.