Irish-founded advisory firm Teneo Holdings has added the three biggest names in basketball - Kobe, LeBron and Jordan – as clients of its newly launched sports division, Teneo Sports.
With a golden reputation for their business links with names as reputable as Bill Clinton, it’s no surprise that co-founders Declan Kelly and Paul Keary scored with the NBA legends. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Michael Jordan stand alongside Northern Irish tennis champion Graeme McDowell as the company’s first four athlete clients.
The New York based corporate advisory firm, with offices in ten cities worldwide, will provide business services including wealth management, tax planning, personal branding and strategic partnerships to the athletes; they will not be acting as ‘sports agents.’
Teneo Holdings had Clinton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as advisers in its early days, and the new sports division is being led by former Nike brand president Charlie Denson, who is likely to have a number of incredible sports contacts.
Teneo Sports got a dynamite start, and will only be seeking athletes among the caliber of Kobe, LeBron, Jordan and McDowell – a level of prestige that probably includes only 100 athletes globally.
Maverick Carter, LeBron James’s business manager and partner in LRMR Management, likes Teneo’s additive appeal - its objective isn’t to replace the managements. He told Fortune in an interview, “LeBron is at the size where he does need to be run like a big company, so I’m not afraid to bring more smart people on board to help me do it.”
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