The Financial Times have confirmed that following what are described as “a series of discussions”, General Motors (GM) has dropped Teneo as its public relations adviser.
General Motors is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, which designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes vehicles and vehicle parts, while also selling financial services. The company is one of the world’s largest auto-mobile manufacturers; ranked number 18 on the ‘Fortune 500’ rankings of the largest United States corporations, by total revenue.
Same disassociation comes about following allegations that Teneo’s Tipperary born chief executive Mr Declan Kelly, (brother of Tipperary Labour Party leader and current TD Mr Alan Kelly), inappropriately touched women at a fundraising event last month. This revelation, which had not been shared widely inside Teneo, has put pressure on private equity group CVC Capital Partners, (latter a world leader in private equity and credit), which in 2019 had bought a majority stake in the business for $350m. The deal then valued Teneo at more than $700m.
Teneo, who presently sponsor the Tipperary Senior Hurling team, is now reportedly seeking to reassure its multinational clients.
We understand that Mr. Kelly became inebriated and behaved inappropriately towards some women and men at the event, according to a spokesperson for Mr Kelly, who spoke to the Financial Times.
Mr Kelly continues to remain as Chairperson and Chief Executive of the public relations and advisory company Teneo, which is headquartered in New York City, with an office in Dublin, Ireland.
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