Crisis manager with ties to Clinton and Obama resigns after boozy night

The head of an international communications firm that specializes in crisis management and has worked with former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is trying to navigate an embarrassing crisis of his own.

Declan Kelly, chief executive of Teneo, the go-to advisory firm for Fortune 500 companies, announced Tuesday he would be stepping down following reports of lewd and lascivious behavior at a charity event last month.

“On May 2, I made an inadvertent, public, and embarrassing mistake for which I took full responsibility and apologized to those directly affected, as well as my colleagues and clients,” Kelly said in a statement. “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.”

Kelly’s departure comes just days after General Motors cut ties with the Manhattan-based firm because of Kelly’s misconduct at a May 2 event hosted by the nonprofit organization Global Citizen. The event, an after-party for the Vax Live concert, was hosted by Selena Gomez, chaired by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and included in-person musical performances from A-list celebrities like Jennifer Lopez. The event also featured a video appearance from President Joe Biden and Pope Francis.

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Kelly was inebriated and “behaved inappropriately towards some women and men,” his representative said in a statement.

Kelly had previously served as a special envoy to Northern Ireland under then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from 2009 to 2011. Clinton headed up the State Department during the Obama administration. Kelly also served as an adviser to Clinton during her 2008 presidential run.

Kelly, who is married with children, also purportedly had a not-so-secret affair with a female subordinate at his company, Page Six reported.

His brother, Alan Kelly, is the leader of the Labour Party in Ireland.

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Teneo is a 1,200-person firm that was co-founded by Doug Band, a former aide to former President Bill Clinton.

GM was purportedly paying Teneo a $250,000-per-month retainer. Kelly has also served as an adviser to Coca-Cola and General Electric.

Calls to Teneo for comment were not immediately returned.