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The boss of public relations firm Teneo has quit after being accused of drunken misbehaviour at a charity party.
Declan Kelly said he was stepping down as chairman and chief executive after what he called “an inadvertent, public and embarrassing mistake”.
He gave no further details, but media reports said Mr Kelly was accused of touching a number of women inappropriately without their consent.
He said he had apologised to those involved and took full responsibility.
In a separate statement, Teneo’s board of directors said it had appointed the firm’s co-founder and chief operating officer, Paul Keary, as its new chief executive with immediate effect.
It thanked Mr Kelly for his leadership and dedication over the past 10 years in building Teneo into “the world’s pre-eminent CEO advisory firm”.
In a statement, Mr Kelly said: “On 2 May, I made an inadvertent, public and embarrassing mistake for which I took full responsibility and apologised 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.”
Mr Kelly said he had received “countless messages of support” from colleagues, clients, public figures and people who know him well, both personally and professionally.
“Their support and trust is what counts the most. I will be forever grateful to them all,” he added.
