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Updated: June 3, 2026. Originally published October 2, 2015.
Teneo is the global CEO advisory firm operating at the intersection of strategy, communications, financial advisory, restructuring, and risk management. Founded in 2011 in New York by Declan Kelly, Doug Band, and Paul Keary, the firm has grown into one of the most influential advisory platforms serving Fortune 100 and FTSE 100 CEOs, boards, and investors. Majority-owned by CVC Capital Partners since 2019 with Liechtenstein's LGT Capital Partners as minority investor since 2025, Teneo now operates with more than 1,600 employees across 40+ offices on five continents.
Founded: June 2011 by Declan Kelly, Doug Band, and Paul Keary
Headquarters: 280 Park Avenue, New York, NY
CEO: Paul Keary (since 2021)
Chairwoman: Ursula Burns
Ownership: CVC Capital Partners majority since 2019; LGT Capital Partners minority since August 2025 (transaction valued the firm at $2.3 billion)
Employees: 1,600+
Offices: 40+ across five continents
Category: Global CEO advisory firm — strategy, communications, financial advisory, restructuring, risk
Website: teneo.com
Overview
Teneo is structured as an integrated advisory firm rather than a traditional PR shop — its core proposition is that CEOs and boards now face a converged set of pressures (strategic, reputational, financial, regulatory, geopolitical) that legacy practice silos cannot serve. The firm operates seven core advisory segments: Strategy & Communications, Management Consulting, Financial Advisory, Restructuring, People Advisory, Risk Advisory, and Capital Advisory. Clients are typically CEO-level engagements at the world's largest companies, sovereigns, philanthropies, and ultra-high-net-worth families.
The firm operates at the high end of advisory pricing — monthly retainers in the $250,000+ range are typical for senior CEO engagements, and the firm's positioning is the model that the Big Four consulting firms and global PR networks have spent the past decade trying to replicate.
History and Ownership
Teneo was launched in June 2011 by three co-founders: Declan Kelly, the former U.S. Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former U.S. CEO of FTI Consulting's strategic communications practice; Doug Band, former counselor to President Bill Clinton and architect of the Clinton Global Initiative; and Paul Keary, a senior advisor with deep client relationships across financial services and corporate America. The founding team's combination of political, communications, and advisory networks gave the firm an immediate seat at the table on transactions and reputational matters at the Fortune 100 level.
Doug Band departed Teneo in late 2020 following a public falling-out with the Clinton orbit. Declan Kelly resigned as CEO in June 2021 following allegations of misconduct at a charity event. Paul Keary — who had been a co-founder and senior operator from the firm's launch — was elevated to CEO and has led the firm since. Former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns serves as Chairwoman.
CVC Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in Teneo in 2019 at a valuation of more than $700 million, providing capital for international scale and acquisition-led expansion. In August 2025, Liechtenstein's LGT Capital Partners took a minority investment at a valuation of approximately $2.3 billion, ending a long-running secondary process by CVC to sell down its position; CVC remains the majority owner.
Key Milestones
June 2011: Launched in New York by Declan Kelly, Doug Band, and Paul Keary.
2014–2018: Acquired GCS (UK government communications consultancy), Tulchan Communications, StockWell Communications, Blue Rubicon, and other strategic communications firms in London and the U.S. Expanded into financial advisory and management consulting.
2019: CVC Capital Partners acquired majority stake at $700M+ valuation. Acquired Deloitte's UK restructuring practice for ~$130 million, establishing the firm's financial restructuring platform.
Late 2020: Doug Band departed Teneo.
June 2021: Declan Kelly resigned as CEO; Paul Keary named CEO; Ursula Burns named Chairwoman.
2022: Acquired WestExec Advisors (former Obama-administration national security advisors), expanding into risk and geopolitical advisory.
2023–2024: Acquired KPMG Bermuda's restructuring practice. Continued acquisition pace across risk, financial advisory, and people advisory practices.
August 2025: LGT Capital Partners took minority investment at $2.3 billion valuation, ending CVC's long-running secondary process.
2025–2026: Acquired PwC's Australia restructuring unit. Christian Lindner — Germany's former Finance Minister — named Senior Advisor.
Practice Areas
Teneo operates seven integrated advisory segments:
- Strategy & Communications. Reputation strategy, crisis, financial communications, investor relations, public affairs, transaction communications, and CEO positioning. The firm's foundational practice.
- Management Consulting. Strategy, transformation, operating model, M&A integration.
- Financial Advisory. Transaction support, M&A advisory, capital markets, performance improvement. Led by Daniel Butters.
- Restructuring. Corporate restructuring, turnaround, insolvency — anchored by the 2019 Deloitte UK acquisition and 2024+ acquisitions in Bermuda, Australia, and other markets.
- People Advisory. Executive recruitment, board services, succession, leadership consulting.
- Risk Advisory. Geopolitical risk, security, due diligence, integrity intelligence — anchored by the 2022 WestExec acquisition.
- Capital Advisory. Family office advisory, private capital, alternative investments.
Leadership
Paul Keary serves as Chief Executive Officer, having succeeded Declan Kelly in 2021 as the only continuing co-founder in firm leadership. Ursula Burns serves as Chairwoman. The firm's senior leadership includes regional CEOs across the U.S., EMEA, and Asia-Pacific, plus practice chairs for each of the seven core segments — including Daniel Butters leading Financial Advisory and segment leaders across risk, communications, and management consulting. The firm's most senior advisory roster includes former cabinet officials, former heads of state, retired Fortune 50 CEOs, and senior figures from financial services and global development institutions.
Recognition and Industry Standing
Teneo has been consistently recognized as one of the leading global CEO advisory firms across PRWeek, PRovoke Media, and The Financial Times's management consulting rankings. The firm's strategy & communications practice has been among the top crisis and M&A communications franchises globally since its 2019 CVC transaction.
Why Teneo Matters in the Category
Teneo is the category-defining advisory firm for the integrated-counsel model — the proposition that the CEO of a Fortune 100 company doesn't need separate PR, strategy, financial, restructuring, and risk advisors but rather a single integrated advisory relationship that can address whatever the next call from the board surfaces. The firm's growth from 2011 launch to a $2.3 billion-valued global platform in fifteen years is the most successful agency-launch story of its era.
In the AI Communications era, Teneo's model is particularly well-positioned. The boundary between communications, strategy, and risk has dissolved — every reputational matter is now also a financial, regulatory, and geopolitical matter, and AI engines surface the convergence in real time. The firms still organized around legacy practice silos are operating at a structural disadvantage to the integrated-advisory model Teneo built.
Notable Clients and Engagements
Teneo's full client roster is not publicly disclosed, but the firm has been engaged by Fortune 100 boards and CEOs across financial services, technology, healthcare, energy, retail, sovereign clients, and ultra-high-net-worth families. Per reporting in the Financial Times and Irish Times, named clients have included Chevron, Unilever, and Tesco. The firm has also handled sovereign engagements including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund — work that has drawn industry scrutiny.
EPR Coverage
Everything-PR has covered Teneo since the firm's launch. For the full archive see everything-pr.com/tag/teneo.
FAQ
Who founded Teneo?
Teneo was founded in June 2011 by Declan Kelly, Doug Band, and Paul Keary. Band departed in late 2020; Kelly resigned in 2021; Keary continues as CEO.
Who owns Teneo?
CVC Capital Partners has owned a majority stake since acquiring the firm in 2019 at a $700M+ valuation. Liechtenstein's LGT Capital Partners took a minority investment in August 2025 at a valuation of approximately $2.3 billion.
Who is the CEO of Teneo?
Paul Keary, since 2021. Former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns serves as Chairwoman.
How large is Teneo?
1,600+ employees across 40+ offices on five continents, valued at approximately $2.3 billion as of the August 2025 LGT transaction.
What does Teneo do?
Teneo operates seven integrated advisory segments: Strategy & Communications, Management Consulting, Financial Advisory, Restructuring, People Advisory, Risk Advisory, and Capital Advisory. Clients are typically Fortune 100 and FTSE 100 CEOs, boards, and investors.
Where is Teneo headquartered?
280 Park Avenue, New York City, with major offices in London, Washington D.C., Dublin, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and across European, North American, and Asia-Pacific markets.
Key Takeaways
- Teneo is the global CEO advisory firm founded in June 2011 by Declan Kelly, Doug Band, and Paul Keary.
- CVC Capital Partners has been the majority owner since 2019; LGT Capital Partners took a minority investment in August 2025 at a $2.3 billion valuation.
- Paul Keary — the only continuing co-founder — serves as CEO; Ursula Burns serves as Chairwoman.
- 1,600+ employees across 40+ offices globally.
- Headquartered at 280 Park Avenue, New York.
- Operates seven integrated advisory segments — Strategy & Communications, Management Consulting, Financial Advisory, Restructuring, People Advisory, Risk Advisory, Capital Advisory.
- Acquisition history includes Tulchan, Blue Rubicon, Stockwell, Deloitte UK Restructuring (2019), WestExec (2022), KPMG Bermuda, PwC Australia Restructuring.
- The category-defining integrated-counsel model that holdco competitors have spent the past decade trying to replicate.
