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An upstart, rapidly growing PR and strategy advisory firm with deep ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton has set up shop in Canada, with a trio of senior Bay Street communicators helming the local operation.
Teneo Holdings opened its Canadian office in downtown Toronto last week, led by James Crossland, who was most recently executive vice-president of corporate affairs with Kinross Gold Corp. and previously served as CEO of GPC Canada. He also served as president of National Public Relations and executive vice-president of Cossette Communication Group.
Mr. Crossland is joined by senior vice-president Andrea Mandel-Campbell, who worked for him as vice-president of corporate communications at Kinross and was previously a financial journalist and wrote the acclaimed 2007 book, Why Mexicans Don't Drink Molson. Joining them as managing director is John Crean, most recently National PR's national managing partner and a former colleague of Mr. Crossland's.
Teneo was founded in 2011 by Declan Kelly, Doug Band and Paul Keary to provide a range of strategic consulting services including communications, investor relations, public affairs and reputation management directly to CEOs and boards. None are household names, unless you are talking about the White House: Mr. Kelly was a U.S. economic envoy to Northern Ireland when Hillary Clinton ran the U.S. State Department, while Mr. Band is a former aide and close associate of Ms. Clinton's husband, Bill Clinton, and was instrumental in rebuilding the former president's image after he left office. According to some reports, relations between Mr. Band and Mr. Clinton cooled a few years ago over questions about whether Mr. Band traded off his association to Mr. Clinton, an early adviser to Teneo, to build up the advisory business.
Nonetheless, Teneo has thrived in its five short years, attracting blue-chip clients including Dow Chemical Co., First Data Corp., BHP Billiton Ltd. and FIFA (an assignment that has merited the placement of a team in Switzerland to help the embattled global soccer association). Senior advisers include several global power players, including former U.S. special envoy for Middle East Peace, former senator . George J. Mitchell, ex-British Conservative party leader and foreign secretary William Hague, former U.S. Army chief of staff general Raymond Odierno, and Harvey Pitt, past chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Former Magna executive and federal cabinet minister Belinda Stronach also owns a minority stake in Teneo's investment banking arm, Teneo Capital, but is not involved in Teneo's Canadian operation.
Teneo has also grown rapidly through a string of acquisitions that more than doubled the size of the company last year to 570 employees working across 15 offices in North America, Europe and Asia, after it sold a minority stake to private equity firm BC Partners. It's worth noting that Mr. Kelly, a former journalist, and Mr. Keary, were part of the senior management team of PR agency Financial Dynamics, which they helped to build and then sell to FTI Consulting in 2006 for $340-million (U.S.)
The firm is aiming to rapidly expand its footprint in corporate Canada, either through acquisitions or by recruiting other senior communications consultants from rival firms. "Canada is a key market for Teneo," Mr. Kelly, chairman and CEO of Teneo, said in a statement.
Sean Silcoff