(Editor's Note: Since March I began reporting on when Teneo was originally founded, and it appears that the firm has been scrubbing the Internet so that some of my original links don't work. But I've saved nearly everything, and can back up my reporting with more information I didn't publish yet. All Teneo's apparent scrubbing seems to do is prove that they want the media to continue to push the falsehood that CEO Declan Kelly had nothing to do with Teneo's initial formation in 2009, most probably because it will show that he broke his non-compete clause with his former employer.
One example of this scrubbing and/or shielding is that in April - after Judicial Watch did a story about my reporting - the September 2012 brochure that advertised Huma Abedin to Teneo clients was made inaccessible to the public, and now requires a password to view: http://ologroup.com/teneo/event/Brochure/oLo.teneoBroDisplay16-9_HIcrop.pdf. I still have a copy of the entire PDF, so their efforts are futile.
On July 17, 2015, BBC reporter Richard Conway - who broke the story that FIFA signed on with Teneo - took the screenshot above showing that the firm was paid $75,000 in a tweet (https://twitter.com/richard_conway/status/622045274270208000) linking to my article: "This via
At least The New York Post got the year right.
On June 21, 2015 - in an article (http://nypost.com/2015/06/21/clinton-confidant-cuts-ties-with-the-formidable-family/) based largely on Daniel Halper's book, "Clinton Inc.", Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein reported, "Now headquartered on the 45th floor of the Citigroup Center in Manhattan, and with offices around the world, Teneo — Latin for “to guide” — started more modestly in 2009 by business consultant Paul Keary."
"[Former President Bill Clinton 'body man' Doug] Band and Declan Kelly, who had been US economic envoy to Northern Ireland in Hillary Clinton’s State Department, joined the firm in 2011, turning it into a global powerhouse," the NY Post reporters added.
However, this is wrong.
As I reported back in March - and other mostly foreign media outlets have referred to in the past - Teneo was actually co-founded by all three in 2009, not 2011. Teneo CEO Declan Kelly had a 2-year non-compete clause with his prior firm, and Doug Band needed to get approval from the State Department, since Hillary Clinton was President Barack Obama's Secretary of State, and there were toothless "revolving door" rules that were introduced as soon as the new administration took control.
I have more proof that Band and Kelly were involved with Teneo since 2009, but - for now - here are excerpts from my prior stories, which support what the media is mostly ignoring, when they continue to report the out-and-out falsehood that Teneo was co-founded in 2011.
From my March 12, 2015 article ("Questions linger about Clintons-linked firm co-founded by former US Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland" http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2015/03/associated-press-lawsuit-against-state.html):
In July of 2009 - before he was officially tapped by Clinton to be envoy - PR Week noted, "Declan Kelly, EVP and chief integration officer for FTI Consulting and chairman of FD US and FD Ireland, will resign on October 5, 2009. Effective immediately, he will serve as a senior adviser on several major client initiatives, first as an employee through October 5, then pursuant to a consulting agreement through June 15, 2011. According to the press release, he has resigned to pursue non-commercial opportunities outside of the firm."
...
"Aspiring to merge corporate consulting, public relations and merchant banking in a single business, Mr. Band poached executives from Wall Street, recruited other Clinton aides to join as employees or advisers and set up shop in a Midtown office formerly belonging to one of the country’s top hedge funds," the NY Times reported August 13, 2013.
That New York Times story claimed Teneo was co-founded by Band in 2009, which seems to be at odds with other reports, and, while it mentions Kelly was appointed envoy by Hillary Clinton, it doesn't name him as a co-founder.
"By 2011, the firm had added a third partner, Declan Kelly, a former State Department envoy for Mrs. Clinton," Nicholas Confessore and Amy Chozick reported in 2012. "And Mr. Clinton had signed up as a paid adviser to the firm."
"Teneo worked on retainer, charging monthly fees as high as $250,000, according to current and former clients. The firm recruited clients who were also Clinton Foundation donors, while Mr. Band and Mr. Kelly encouraged others to become new foundation donors. Its marketing materials highlighted Mr. Band’s relationship with Mr. Clinton and the Clinton Global Initiative, where Mr. Band sat on the board of directors through 2011 and remains an adviser. Some Clinton aides and foundation employees began to wonder where the foundation ended and Teneo began."The 2013 New Republic article on Band by MacGillis claimed, "In 2010, he, Declan Kelly, and a third partner registered the first of several entities in Delaware that would become Teneo. Band and Kelly had met during the 2008 campaign when Kelly was fund-raising for Hillary. Kelly had previously owned a p.r. firm, and the plan was for Band to offer the kind of strategic savvy he’d provided to Clinton. 'He’s particularly useful to the CEOs,' says Podesta."
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When exactly was Teneo founded? If Declan Kelly helped found the firm while he was also envoy, that might complicate Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign even more.
According to Manta, which only refers to Kelly as CEO, "records show [Teneo Strategy Consulting LLC] was established in 2009 and incorporated in New York." Perhaps Teneo was put on hold for two years so that Declan Kelly could accept the envoy appointment by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with less scrutiny.
According to the New York State Corporation & Business Entity Database, Teneo Strategy Consulting LLC was registered on November 18, 2009, which was two months after Declan Kelly was appointed to the No. Ireland envoy post by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It may not be related to the firm that was co-founded in 2009, 2010 or 2011, but it was registered by a former associate with the Wall Street firm, Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP.
On September 9. 2011, the database reveals Teneo Strategy LLC was registered in New York.
The website www.TeneoStrategyConsulting.com was registered on November 20, 2009 and began redirecting to www.TeneoHoldings.com on September 30, 2011, according to archive.org. So either the first firm was bought out, or it's always been the same company.
After I tweeted him, Charles Ortel - who has been reporting on Teneo for Breitbart.com ("Investment by BC Partners in Teneo Holdings may create serious problems for the Clinton brand") - suggested, "Actually--go to corporate registry in Delaware, NY, UK , Ireland and you will learn more---next story out Sunday/Monday!"
While searching for info on "Teneo Strategy Consulting", I stumbled upon a link which suggests that the firm got a multimillion dollar grant from the Rockefeller Foundation nearly thirty days before it was officially launched. According to the foundation's website, Teneo received $3,447,150 as part of the Centennial Fund "[i]n support of a project, in connection with the Rockefeller Foundation's centennial in 2013, to build capacity, create new coalitions, strengthen existing networks, and advance public policy by convening gatherings and providing multimedia tools and resources for identifying challenges and proposing tangible solutions to global problems." The terms of the grant are listed as 6/1/2011 – 3/31/2012.
Back on December 5, 2011, Neil W. McCabe - in a Human Events article - wrote, "Teneo landed its first major client June 1, when the Rockefeller Foundation gave Teneo a $3,447,150, six-month contract to help plan the foundation’s 2013 centennial."
"The foundation is another member of the Clinton’s extended family," McCabe added. "It gave Clinton its Lifetime Innovation Achievement Award July 27 and the foundation is listed as a between $1 to $5 million contributor to the William J. Clinton Foundation, along with several members of the Rockefeller family who are listed as individual contributors."
An IRS form 990-PF (pdf link) shows that Teneo Strategy Consulting was the highest paid independent contractor for the Rockefeller Foundation in 2012, earning $5,731,639.
The 2011 annual report for the Rockefeller Foundation (pdf link) also shows $350,000 was given to the Clinton Global Initiative "toward the costs of its 2011 annual conference, designed to catalyze a community of global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to global challenges such as energy and climate change, poverty alleviation, global health, and education", and $594,960 to the Clinton Health Access Initiative, "for use by its Rwanda Country Office, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health in Rwanda, to upgrade District Health Strengthening Tool software and provide regional training and support for the local-level integration of new eHealth technologies country-wide."
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According to the Trademark Encyclopedia and Trademarks411, the same firm, Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP, that registered Teneo Strategy Consulting LLC on November 18, 2009, also seems to have worked with it on trademarks.
From my September 30, 2015 commentary ("RON BRYNAERT: A liberal take on the Hillary Clinton email scandal: Why the Huma Abedin controversy matters") that was published on the front page of The Washington Times editorial section (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/30/ron-brynaert-a-liberal-take-on-the-hillary-clinton/?page=all):
Why are we still talking about a revolving door at the White House?
After promising “change” in America, President Obama officially shut the revolving door on Jan. 21, 2009, in his very first executive order (https://www.whitehouse.gov/21stcenturygov/actions/revolving-door).
“Every appointee in every executive agency” was asked to sign this “ethics pledge,” which would make them “contractually committed … [a]s a condition, and in consideration, of [their] employment in the United States Government in a position invested with the public trust.” Commitment to the “obligations” was “binding” and “enforceable under law.”
While most of Mr. Obama’s executive order was devoted to curbing lobbying, there was also a “revolving door ban,” which affected “all appointees entering government.”
“I will not for a period of 2 years from the date of my appointment participate in any particular matter involving specific parties that is directly and substantially related to my former employer or former clients, including regulations and contracts,” all appointees entering government were asked to vow.
After serving as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, longtime aide Huma Abedin was quietly appointed as a “special government employee” on June 3, 2012. However, according to an email that conservative watchdog Judicial Watch recently obtained through a Freedom of Information Action lawsuit against the State Department, the very next day Ms. Abedin claimed that her “new position” would be “identical to [her] old position,” even though that appears to be in violation of special government employee requirements (http://www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/new-documents-huma-abedin).
Along with continuing to help and arrange Mrs. Clinton’s travel schedule at the State Department, Ms. Abedin also began working for the Clinton Foundation, a consulting firm called Teneo — co-founded by former President Bill Clinton’s “body man” and two Hillary Clinton fundraisers, one of whom, Declan Kelly, she had appointed as the economic envoy to Northern Ireland — and the former first lady herself on a personal basis.
As I reported in March (http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2015/03/teneo-worked-on-belfast-event-honoring.html and http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2015/03/state-secretarys-last-dinner-in-dublin.html), and recently released emails confirmed, Ms. Abedin helped schedule a dinner with Irish-American fundraisers for Mrs. Clinton on her last foreign trip as secretary of state, which included Teneo CEO Declan Kelly and top Clinton Foundation donor Denis O’Brien, a billionaire who is friends with Mr. Clinton. In her December 2012 trip to Ireland, Mrs. Clinton also was honored at a luncheon by the Ireland Funds, a Clinton Foundation donor. Mr. Kelly was on the board of the American Ireland Fund and his firm handled press for the Belfast luncheon.
Ms. Abedin’s multiple jobs all seem to conflict with the “ethics pledge” that “all appointees entering government” were required to sign by Mr. Obama, but no journalists or even Republicans — as far as I know — have mentioned this as an issue at all, even though the special government employee appointment has turned into a major controversy and Ms. Abedin’s four hats may have affected Mrs. Clinton’s polling numbers, since Huma is vice chairwoman of her 2016 campaign for president.
Perhaps because it’s just business as usual in American politics.
From my March 21, 2015 article ("Staff employed by State Dept. as administrative support for Clinton envoy helped launch Teneo" http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2015/03/staff-employed-by-state-dept-as.html) and my March 12, 2015 story ("Questions linger about Clintons-linked firm co-founded by former US Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland"http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2015/03/associated-press-lawsuit-against-state.html):
Declan Kelly - a long time friend of the Clintons - was appointed the US Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in September of 2009. Although "speculated to be in line for the CEO's job", Kelly officially resigned from his job as "EVP and chief integration officer for FTI Consulting and chairman of FD US and FD Ireland" a few months earlier, but agreed to "serve as a senior adviser on several major client initiatives, first as an employee through October 5, then pursuant to a consulting agreement through June 15, 2011. According to the press release, he has resigned to pursue non-commercial opportunities outside of the firm," PR Week noted in July of 2009.
Less than a week after Kelly stopped officially working as an employee for FTI - but apparently remained a consultant - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued joint press statements with First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at Stormont Castle in Northern Ireland, where she announced, "I have brought with me our new economic envoy, Declan Kelly, who is already hard at work, fostering economic ties."
After he resigned as envoy, Ryan Grim reported for Huffington Post on November 14, 2011, "As part of his deal with FTI, Kelly told HuffPost, he had agreed to a noncompete clause that prevented him from establishing a rival firm within two years of leaving FTI. Hillary Clinton had just been named to President Barack Obama's Cabinet and had something to keep him busy."
Kelly told Huffington Post, "When she wasn't successful [in her presidential campaign] and she became secretary of state, she asked me if I wanted to do a stint as an envoy to Ireland, and it came at the right time in my life. So I gave up everything, resigned from the job and agreed to a two-year noncompete, and went to Northern Ireland and did that job for two years. And I resigned in March of this year, and in June we started the new business."
The noncompete clause states, "You hereby reaffirm your obligation to comply strictly with the post-employment restrictions in the Employment Agreement during the twelve month period commencing October 6, 2009, and you hereby reaffirm your obligation under the Amended RSA, during the period up to and including June 15, 2011, not to (a) become employed by or a partner in or a consultant to any financial communications business competing with FD and/or any of its affiliates (the “Group”) in any one or more countries in Western Europe, or in the United States or Canada or South Africa or Dubai or Hong Kong or China or India or Bahrain or Russia (a “Competing Business”) and in a manner in which your employment, partnership or consultancy would compete with the Group, (b) solicit clients or employees of the Group away from the Group for the benefit of a Competing Business or (c) willfully or deliberately disclose to any person information which is confidential to the Group, subject only to the following express exceptions: (a) your performance of services as an independent contractor to FTI during the period October 6, 2009 through and including June 15, 2011, or earlier in the event you terminate the independent contractor relationship prior thereto; and (b) your employment (whether directly or through an entity owned by you) of Sue Bloomberg."
In the Huffington Post article, Kelly didn't mention that - per his termination agreement - he had a "post-employment consulting arrangement with FD US and FTI."
"You will be reimbursed, in accordance with standard FTI expense reimbursement practice, for all business related expenses incurred by you during the period through October 5, 2009, and for all business related expenses incurred in connection with the Key Accounts (or approved in advance by the CEO of FTI) during the period through June 15, 2011," the agreement noted. "During the period from October 6, 2009 through June 15, 2011, you (or an entity to be formed and owned by you) will serve as an independent contractor consultant to FTI and FD."
"In the event you determine to accept a position in government service that prohibits or materially impairs your performance of services as an independent contractor consultant to FTI or FD through June 15, 2011, you will provide not less than thirty (30) days’ written notice of such decision to the CEO of FTI, and during such notice period you will consult and work with the CEO of FTI and other members of FTI and FD senior management, as well as the pertinent client facing FD professionals, to develop and implement a plan reasonably calculated to facilitate the continued and uninterrupted provision of client services to the Key Accounts."During the period October 6, 2009 through June 15, 2011, you will be entitled to receive the Key Account Personal Billings, the *** Origination Fee, and the *** Origination Fee, with payment of such fees, in each instance, to be made 10 working days after such fees are collected," the agreement adds.
You and your family shall be entitled to continued medical and dental insurance coverage at present levels through June 15, 2011. Thereafter, you will be eligible to continue your health insurance coverage under COBRA, as in effect at such time. You will receive further details on these conversion/continuation rights in a separate document from FlexAmerica.
You will continue to have the use of a leased company car in accordance with Section 5(d) of your Employment Agreement through June 15, 2011. In the event applicable FTI insurance arrangements do not permit the continued use of a leased company car after October 5, 2009, suitable and mutually acceptable alternative arrangements will be made."
Financial statements suggest that Kelly earned as much as $2.4 million from FTI in 2009, but it's unclear what he received from them the next two years.
The Huffington Post article continued, "As the Northern Ireland envoy, Kelly took no salary from State, he said, but was afforded one staffer in Washington and reimbursed for coach flights across the pond. On his own dime, he said, he hired a staff of five and paid for office space at a cost of $1.4 million, while also giving up potentially millions in salary over the two-year period. Kelly's assertions may sound extreme, but ambassadors and high-level envoys are known to spend heavily with their personal money while in the job. The White House referred questions to the State Department; a spokesman there didn't respond to requests for comment."
"Kelly has brought that staff with him to his new investment firm," Grim noted.
He bragged to Huffington Post in 2011, "I didn't need the State Department or the U.S. government's help to access the economic elite in Ireland. I have advised four prime ministers in Ireland, all pro bono. I had a business in Ireland for over a decade, I have a home there, I am an Irish citizen and I know virtually every senior business leader in the country. I've gained no personal benefit from this at all."
But according to the Irish Echo, the State Department helped "provide administrative support" to Kelly, so it's unclear how much was spent by the US government.
"The formation of Kelly’s newest venture was in the works for some time before Kelly resigned," the Irish Echo reported on August 4, 2011. "A trademark application was made for the Teneo company logo in April, 2010, and an application for funding was also submitted to the Rockefeller Foundation months before its approval in early June, giving the new company a huge grant for over three million dollars in start up cash."
From my July 16, 2015 article ("Year before launch, Clintons-linked firm worked on failed US World Cup bid"; IRS filing reveals Teneo earned $75K fundraising while lobbying Fifa officials with ex-President Clinton in 2010 http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2015/07/year-before-launch-clintons-linked-firm.html):
In its latest press release, Teneo - a PR firm co-founded by two former Hillary Clinton fundraisers, including CEO Declan Kelly who she appointed as US Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland, and former President Bill Clinton's "body man", Doug Band - claims that it "is a global advisory firm founded in 2011 by Declan Kelly, Doug Band and Paul Keary with a vision to create a new breed of advisory firm focused on working exclusively with the leaders of major corporations to help them address a wide range of business and reputational issues and opportunities."
However, Teneo's first paying gig was actually in 2010, while Kelly was still working for the State Department.
"The BBC has learnt New York-based Teneo Holdings has been retained in the wake of the criminal investigation launched into football's world governing body by the US Department of Justice in May," BBC Radio 5 Live Sports News Correspondent Richard Conway reported today. "The company's president is Doug Band, who served as a director on the US 2022 World Cup bid committee."
Conway notes, "Band, together with Fifa executive committee member Sunil Gulati and others, made the final World Cup bid presentation to high-ranking officials in Zurich in 2010."
On April 8, 2010 a US Soccer press release announced, "Counselor to President Bill Clinton, Douglas Band, has formally accepted an invitation to join the Board of Directors for the USA Bid Committee in its effort to bring the FIFA World Cup™ to the United States in 2018 or 2022."
"Band has worked alongside President Clinton for more than 14 years, serving a variety of roles dating back to Clinton’s time in the White House. He has served as President Clinton's chief adviser since 2002, counseling him and serving as the key architect of Clinton's post-Presidency. He created and built the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) that to date has raised $57 billion for 1,700 philanthropic initiatives around the world spanning climate change, global health, citizen service, education and the empowerment of women and girls, which in total impacts more than 200 million people in 170 countries.The 2010 press release added, "All candidates must have their bid applications to FIFA by May 14, 2010. FIFA’s 24 member Executive Committee will study the bids, conduct site visits and name the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments on December 2, 2010, completing a 21-month bid and review process."
'Doug has spent most of his professional career working with President Clinton on topics that range from international and domestic policy to global philanthropic and environmental issues,' said Sunil Gulati, the Chairman of the USA Bid Committee and President of U.S. Soccer. 'His vast experience and multi-national contacts, along with his passion for the game of soccer will be key assets to the bid as he travels the world alongside President Clinton in the months to come.'"
According to an IRS filing (pdf link; page 28) by the USA Bid Committee Inc. that appears to have been submitted on May 13, 2011, Teneo Strategy Consulting raised $1,392,500 through phone and email solicitations and earned $75,000 for its work in 2010. "Teneo Strategy Consulting was engaged to provide phone and email solicitations," the filing states on page 30. On page 8, listed second between Chairman Sunil Gulati and Vice Chairman Carlos Cordeiro, Honorary Chairman William Clinton is named as only one of three officers for the USA bid committee.
One month after the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team and U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati met with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with former US President Bill Clinton, in a May 2010 visit to the White House, Foreign Policy's P.J. Aroon reported on June 24, 2010, "Clinton, who was president when the United States hosted the World Cup in 1994 and women’s World Cup in 1999, was in Africa primarily to lobby FIFA’s executive committee on the U.S. bid for 2018 or 2022, though his trip includes visits to Malawi and Tanzania to check up on Clinton Foundation projects."
According to his website biography, Teneo Strategy Senior Vice President Michael Coakley "has been an advisor on a number of sports-related engagements including the United States bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup and Qatar’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games." However, his LinkedIn resume claims that he didn't work for the firm until 2011.
As his biography notes, Doug Band also "was part of the negotiation team that handled all aspects of Hillary Clinton’s becoming Secretary of State." Although it states that he "served...in 2010 on the Board of Directors of the United States Bid Committee for the World Cup," the Teneo website doesn't note that they were paid for this service.
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In an April 30 article covering my reporting on Teneo, conservative watchdog Judicial Watch's Micah Morrison wrote, "Brynaert pays close attention to the timelines. Kelly served as U.S. Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland from September 2009 to May 2011. Brynaert asks, 'When exactly was Teneo founded? If Declan Kelly helped found the firm while he was also envoy, that might complicate Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign even more.'"
"The official line from Teneo is that it was founded in 2011. But Brynaert reports that Teneo appears to have been registered as a business as early as 2009. 'According to the New York State Corporation & Business Entity Database,' Brynaert writes, 'Teneo Strategy Consulting LLC was registered on November 18, 2009, which was two months after Declan Kelly was appointed to the No. Ireland envoy post.' Brynaert notes as well that the website www.TeneoStrategyConsulting.com was registered on November 20, 2009, and began redirecting to www.TeneoHoldings.com on September 30, 2011."The IRS filing by the USA Bid Committee Inc. submitted on May 13, 2011 according to its electronic stamp came after an April request for an extension to file. This was two days after then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's May 11, 2011 statement regarding Kelly's resignation as US Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland.
"A joint investigation by the Washington Examiner and the nonprofit watchdog group Judicial Watch found that former President Clinton gave 215 speeches and earned $48 million while his wife presided over U.S. foreign policy, raising questions about whether the Clintons fulfilled ethics agreements related to the Clinton Foundation during Hillary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state," Luke Rosiak and Micah Morrison reported for the Washington Examiner on July 30, 2014.
On June 11, 2011, "the State Department approved a consulting agreement [(pdf link)] between Bill Clinton and a controversial Clinton Foundation adviser, Doug Band."
The consulting work that Band, Clinton and Teneo provided the US World Cup bid apparently wasn't approved by the State Department, since it transpired a year before it was even contacted about Teneo.
See my previous stories for more details (however, there are lots more at this blog, with additional information, plus at my Twitter account @ronbryn, and - of course - more on the way both here, there, and - hopefully - everywhere one day):
Questions linger about Clintons-linked firm co-founded by former US Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland
Staff employed by State Dept. as administrative support for Clinton envoy helped launch Teneo
Teneo worked on Belfast event honoring Hillary Clinton
State Secretary's last dinner in Dublin hosted by Clinton Foundation donor
Is Weiner planning to try and win back his old Congress seat?
State Dept. spokesman fielded question about Hillary Clinton Deputy Chief of Staff after Huma Abedin 'quietly' left position
Anthony Weiner company led by former board director for firm investors blasted as 'CROOKS'
Friends of Weiner may get hit with FEC audit or enforcement action
Weiner paid 'fund-raising whiz' $8K a month after he resigned .
