Media

Tom Brady joins firm launched by Irish PR executive Declan Kelly

American football legend has joined Kelly’s new firm Consello as a partner

Tom Brady is described on the Consello site as ‘a proven leader, whose achievements are attained by mastering the skills of leadership, strategy, performance, and teamwork’. Photograph; Doug Mills/The New York Times

Arash Massoudi
James Fontanella-Khan
Tue Apr 5 2022 - 07:46

Declan Kelly, the top public relations adviser who quit his firm Teneo last year after sexual harassment allegations, has recruited American football star Tom Brady to his comeback venture, according to his new company website.

Mr Brady, the National Football League star who recently announced he was retiring from the sport before rescinding that decision, has joined Mr Kelly’s new firm Consello as a partner, according to the site.

Other partners named on the Consello site are Oscar Salazar, former chief technology officer of Uber, and Steve Mollenkopf, former chief executive of Qualcomm.

Mr Brady is described on the Consello site as “a proven leader, whose achievements are attained by mastering the skills of leadership, strategy, performance and teamwork”.

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Consello launch

The disclosures come after the Financial Times revealed in February that Mr Kelly had discreetly launched Consello just months after he was forced to quit Teneo, a PR firm he co-founded with former Bill Clinton aide Doug Band.

Mr Kelly’s effort to relaunch his career comes less than 12 months after the FT first reported allegations that the 54 year old had inappropriately touched women while drunk at a May 2021 fundraiser for charity Global Citizen, which led him to quit his board seat at the charity and resign from Teneo.

Consello, which means “advice” in Galician, is based in New York, was launched in July 2021 and focuses on investing, advising on mergers and acquisitions, business development and digital currency advisory, its website said.

It had previously been reported that Mr Kelly had been operating under the radar for a handful of big clients, including Intel. He advised the chipmaker on the spin-off and planned listing of Mobileye, a driver assistance and autonomous vehicle unit that could be worth up to $50 billion (€45.6 billion), according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Mr Kelly did not immediately respond to a request for comment. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2022

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