General Motors CEO Mary Barra is distancing herself from strategist Declan Kelly and his consulting firm Teneo after he displayed “inappropriate” behaviour at a recent charity event.
According to The Detroit Free Press, Kelly was observed behaving inappropriately at a cocktail party for the anti-poverty charity Global Citizen in May, which he serves on the board of. A spokesperson for the high-profile business consultant said he “became inebriated and behaved inappropriately toward some women and men at the event.” He was removed from the charity’s board a day after and subsequently announced a summer sabbatical from his role as the CEO of Teneo.
Declan Kelly
GM said it was re-evaluating its relationship with Teneo after initial reports of Kelly’s behaviour surfaced last week. The automaker has now confirmed the termination of its contract with the consulting firm, which included a $250,000-a-month retainer.
“Following a series of discussions, General Motors has decided to no longer engage with Teneo,” GM spokesman David Barnas told The Free Press last week.
Kelly allegedly provided Barra and other high-ranking GM executives with advice on government relations and executive positioning, the Free Press reports. GM is the first company to publicly confirm that it has terminated its contract with Teneo following the Kelly controversy.
Kelly says he is re-evaluating his decisions in the wake of the controversy and has decided to quit drinking.
“This incident has been a huge wake-up call for me,” the business consultant said in a prepared statement. “I immediately quit drinking and am undertaking ongoing counseling from health care professionals. I will never drink again. I have learned hard lessons and the work that needs to get done is on me and I am doing it right now. It will be an ongoing journey that will last the rest of my life.”
The business consultant plans to return to his role with Teneo in full capacity in September.
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Comments
It’s past the time where GM should have parted ways with Barra.
GM needs to get a younger , more educated, and less expensive CEO.
@Luther: We all know you actually mean a WASPY white man of any age, a GED, and paid 3x as much as Barra. You’re so blatant in your misogyny.
Says the guy who made sex the issue. She’s a bad person regardless of how she identifies. She is highly educated… she just uses that education to maximize her own gains, which is fine. I think it might just be time for lowercase gm be honest with its consumers about their failing BEV investment, the tech is extremely limited and the demand is extremely low.
you need to get educated about EV’s
Andy…… it’s obvious that you jump to conclusions and make comments that are very racist. You seriously need professional mental help for your anger issues.
Andy.
Amazing you are a mind reader knowing exactly what people ‘meant’ to say.
Please use your all knowing powers to tell me the power ball numbers for tomorrow.
Andy Idiot
REALLY! How is G.M. doing now and before Mary Barra?
It was sad back in the 60’s, when unions and governments tried to hold GM back, because they had over 60% of the market. Yet they kept Ford from bankruptcy, after refusing to meet the fuel mileage mandate for 1977. Again in the late 90’s , when they were allowed to put the blame on Firestone, for their under-inflated tires.
They’re only doing as well as they are thanks to the American taxpayers! Certainly NOT because of her!
Under CEO Rick Wagner, gm wasn’t quite in their best of times either and also had 4 car brands fall under his watch, let’s not forget about that.
Agree
And a far less ignorant & inept CEO as well. In fact, Barra should have never been selected as CEO, but with Barrack’s blessings it obviously has turned out well, right? After all whether a person has merit for a particular position or not is not the point in today’s world. What difference does it make if we have the best pilot of the GM plane flying the thing or not? I mean, wouldn’t we all want the most female, transgender, or person of color flying our 747 jet liner or one with high qualifications for the job? What difference does it make?
Gary Paul wrote:
> wouldn’t we all want the most female, transgender, or person of color
> flying our 747 jet liner or one with high qualifications for the job?
Sure, I want the most female, transgender, or person of color with the highest qualifications flying “my” 747 (acutally, I don’t own one).
But I as a simple paying passenger have no means to select the specific pilot to fly the aircraft which will transport me e.g. to Luanda, Angola; this choice is the aircraft carrier to make (which in this case would be Lufthansa, a company which I trust).
Yours
We do not need comments from people that hate Woman as members of GMAUTHORITY !
Mary has a fondness for ”the big guy”in more than one way,and thats all that is important for stockholders.
For all we know he may have said some things that needed said and it disgruntled folks.
I got excited for a minute…’GM CEO parts ways…’ but then the letdown! When the @%!& is this company going to part ways with this incompetent hag? Stockholm Syndrome anyone?
What a shame our CEO needs someone like this to consult with. Just shows how incompetent she really is.
The real shame is that your CEO is still your CEO!
At $250,000 a month this guy is underpaid.
Mary had lined her pockets at others expense and has kept a good public image.
This guy must have been working his a— off.
And you see once again Those who have the power can get away with anything but those who serve the power can get away with nothing. I thought America was equality not enabling those who have the power and all the money
@Andy no they need a CEO that’s concerned with building good quality vehicles that are reliable, which she clearly is not.
GM has a highly paid team of people called Industry Government Relations that has the advising and consulting role for this exact thing over in Washington. To pay a 250k retainer as well as whatever added fees this guy did was incredulous. IMO it shows how gullible GM leadership can be.
In my opinion GM will continue their downward spiral they have closed many factories and sent them to Mexico do the math do the cost of living allowance per year price of a Camaro 1970 versus price for Camaro now the price is way past the inflation rate it’s all about greed GM doesn’t care about American workers or America just to stockholders. It’s all going to come to head the next 50 to 100 years all the greed is not going to fix the damage the rich people the greedy people have done to this planet everyone will pay for their greed God bless our children our grandchildren and their children that’s what it should be about not about profit about sustainability saving this planet from total destruction.
I think I’ll go for a Cruze.
What was most interesting to me was the $250K per MONTH retainer for “government relations”mentioned in the article. It is very possible that this was an error and the real number is $250K per year. However, if the number in the article is accurate it makes you wonder if the consultant was really a lobbyist and the $250K per month was intended as “expense $.”
Wow…using her name immediately brings out the racist bigotry folks highlighting Mary is women…instead of a CEO named Mary. Man or woman should not be identified by gender but by their work. Let’s continue to segregate race and gender as means to separate and divide our country…instead of the individual by skills, expertise, and savvy. If the numbers show good or bad, expect opinions, but don’t get a narrative of gender…hell, she’s a freaking CEO, she better be able take criticism.
Working in corporate america for over 35 years, $250k a month retainer is the “average” rate. Top 500 corporations would pay close to a million to stay out of the media headlines or a disgruntled employee that could loose millions for that corporation. How about Coke… lost 4 billion in a week due to wokism… Retainers for cybersecurity is much more… think about private information data or Ransomware…
Back to Mary, quit saying she’s a “woman” and telling everyone that when they are pointing out their opinions on how she runs gm for shareholders. Woman or man, who cares… Cause she is a woman…in a CEO position… If she wants to sell wigits in or too China, who cares, as long as the shareholders make money. If she wants to build gm vehicles in Mexico and Canada for the US, that’s “her” decision but there are repercussions for leaving the US labor market naked and broke.
JMO…. 🙂
Race57 wrote:
> If she wants to build gm vehicles in Mexico and Canada for the US, that’s “her” decision
no, that decision had been taken decades ago. In the past century even..
Worst CEO gm has ever had. Neutered the greatest automotive manufacturer in the world to Chinese rubble. Has given up on the American people and is leading the push towards the death of ICE and driving excitement. GM has put all their eggs in 1 basket and will suffer for it. You’re grandkids won’t have the option to buy a new GM vehicle.
I know the 2018 GMC Sierra Denali HD will be the last GM vehicle I ever buy unless they change course by then! She and the design team who RUINED the trucks needs to go. And the government needs to stop rescuing poorly run companies! GM being ‘poorly run’ is an understatement. Look what they did with Hummer…it was VERY profitable, yet they killed it off. GM needs to FINALLY make a GOOD decision and cut off the snake’s head…Barra NEEDS to go!
Have you yet driven the GMC Hummer?
No, and don’t plan to. It’s not a ‘Hummer’, it’s an electric vehicle named after a once-successful and popular brand. What’s funny is, where’s the electric come from to charge it? LOL…COAL AND GAS fired power plants!
You don’t own the “Hummer” nameplate, GM does.
She needs to go the company headed in the wrong direction
The greatest gift that has ever been given to a species, is the power to reason. Now all we have to do is learn to use that power reasonably. Hopefully someday we will be able to to do that for the betterment of mankind and the planet we all live on.
Respectfully,
Reed
Mary’s an idiot, a perfect example on how to run a corporation into the ground.
No, not really a perfect example.
Joe Biden is way more adept at running a going concern into the ground.
Ms Mary Barra I need Your Help I worked 43+ yrs for GM All at Tech Center in Warren I was Unjustly Discharged April 30 2020. I asked Union and Management if They could enforce Your Mask Mandate While working Supervisor Rocco Said They Don’t have to. I was later charged with Threatening coworkers based on false statements written I Ask For Help I Know By Working For You That You Are A Very Professional Person And Understanding of Real life Issues. My Name Robert E Bethea
Please Restore My Job Please Look Into My Situation Please I Lost Everything I Worked For Over Lies. I contacted Ms Houser Sly For Help Prior to Discharged May 11 2020 Labor Relationship Became Very Angered. Please Hear My Story Lots of Unfair Treatment at Tech Center By Union and Management.
So much for Barra’s diversity policies….it’s just another case of the underlying ageism policies that GM hands out that the normal public doesn’t hear about . It’s been an ongoing struggle for long time employees to comprehend over the last 5 to 7 years.
Wrong place man, she doesn’t read these comments nor does she care about workers!
Help How Do I get Her Attention Please Inbox Me Direction Please
Sounds like a union problem. Good thing you paid all those dues.
Or maybe you left something out here?
Union is Problem No Support I ran for President of Local in 2019 Problems Started Help For Direction Or Advice
Who is listening to this goof, Mary Barra, bring GM to its knees. Go back to Yogi
Why would anyone change a 70 +/- year old world recognized bold trademark like “GM” into a lower case, apologetic looking “gm”?
What message are they sending? We are small and timid?
Meh….. in ten years there will be less demand for vehicles in general. So, if you follow what young people are thinking , you’d know that Non Binary identifiers are all the rage. Neutral sexuality, neutral opinions, neutral desires for excessive retail desires. Work from home will be the norm after the next few Covid variants squash the consumer lust factor. Happy, non binary humans finally at peace with the Quantum Realities of the coming decades and centuries . Basic Living Income , government rent control and low consumption across the globe. No more Silverados with defective drivetrains. Nothing to haul !
So many frightened, scared, angry people! Who has made these folks so bitter? A car company? A CEO? The folks writing some of these comments need help that they are not getting in their daily lives.
A shame lower case gm is on a US death spiral. Design Flaws and QC are in the toilet and lower case gm doesn’t make customers happy once they purchase and have “design flaw” problems. It was once called a factory warranty on defective components. Wokism has crushed the company and all else in the once great USA.
Dan That about sums it up.
What goes up will go down. Nothing is eternal except permanent change.
Get real, get acquainted with reality.
Hollow
Empty
Hypocritical
Craven virtue signaling
NOW DO THE REST OF THE ELITES!
They are all the same.
Remember a guy called Harvey or Jeffery
Mary must go !
@Paul lost his sanity and calls a commenter an idiot. Must be hare-brained thus ran out of better word to day.
Mary Barra should part ways
Isn’t “inappropriate” behavior exactly how Mary’s good buddy earned his nickname Creepy Joe?
What’s YOUR Social Credit Score?
It started with Roger Smith and Mary Barra continues in a fine tradition of gutting general motors creating useless products and concentrating on something specific rather than their whole operation, their cars continually increase in price and give you less value, she should be taking a lesson from KIA!
Very true! Prices are ridiculous and they trashed the new trucks while pricing them out of any reasonable persons reach. Most people now need to take a 7 or 8 year loan for a new truck just to keep the payments less than their mortgage! Or choose between a vehicle and a house. The same truck I bought (’18 Denali HD diesel that stickered for $73K) as a 2020 is $82K! And ugly, especially the Silverado’s. Got rid of Hummer (profitable!), Pontiac (profitable!), and continue to offer less product, less quality, for more money!
You forgot to mention Saturn. They spent all that money creating a new kind of car company, for what? How long did it last? 15 years? What a joke.
What would Roger Sterling say?
GM outsells Ford and Stellantis in America and is more profitable than either, and it’s been that way for several years. That’s all that matters to the Board of Directors, not narrow-minded online comments from people desperate to matter.
You are the one sounding desperate to matter buddy boy, we’re all simply stating facts! Try it sometime.
The narrow minded comments come from ex gm buyers for a good reason.
further proof Mary must go !