Kelly started his career in the 1980s and 1990s reporting[1] for The Nenagh Guardian,[2] the Tipperary Star,[3] and the Cork Examiner,[4] and in 1994 he received the AT Cross Business Journalist of The Year Award.
[6] Selling that firm to Financial Dynamics (FD)[7] in 2000,[4] he subsequently moved to the United States and began consulting for companies such as General Electric, Coca-Cola and Dell.
[5] Currently serving as chairman of the American Associates of the Royal Academy of Arts,[7] he also founded the Northern Ireland Mentorship Program for business graduates,[7] and has been recognised with accolades such as the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Kelly's parents made financial sacrifices to ensure that he and his brother, Alan, a future Cabinet Minister in the Irish government, received full educations.
[19] Joining FD as a member of their senior management,[1] he moved to the United States[6] in 2001[4] and was appointed chairman of Financial Dynamics in Ireland[5][7] in late 2002.
[2] Kelly was also appointed global head of business development for FD International,[2] and in September 2002 he became chairman and CEO of Financial Dynamics USA.
"[8] In September 2006, Kelly helped oversee the sale of Financial Dynamics to FTI Consulting[6][7] for US$340 million, which at the time was the largest sum ever paid for a communications firm.
[4] In September 2009[7][9] Kelly was appointed economic envoy to Northern Ireland by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,[6] promptly travelling to Belfast.
[13] He resigned as US Special Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland on 11 May 2011, with the BBC reporting that Kelly "said he had achieved the goals he had set for himself and the time was right for him to move on.
"[12] Explained Irish Central in 2012, "at its heart Teneo is essentially a global consulting firm and merchant bank that advises many of the world's largest companies on a wide-range of issues.
"[4] Teneo was headquartered in New York's 601 Lexington Avenue building,[6] with announced plans to open offices in Washington D.C., London, Dublin,[12] and Toronto.
[26] In 2015 Teneo received information requests from the office of Senator Charles Grassley as part of a review into potential ethics issues with a State Department waiver granted to Huma Abedin, a Clinton top aide, allowing her to earn income outside the government.
[32] As of January 2016, there was speculation in the press that Teneo would purchase Apco, a public relations firm with 600 staff headquartered in the United States.
[5] According to the Financial Times,Teneo leadership scrambled to hold a call to brief its UK-based senior advisers — a list that includes former home secretary Amber Rudd and former leader of the UK’s Conservative party William Hague — who had not previously been informed about the alleged misconduct.
[35] On February 10, 2022, the Financial Times reported that Kelly has founded a new company called Consello, which "focuses on investing, merchant banking, corporate development and mergers and acquisitions.
[7][37] In April 2020, he was executive producer of Together at Home, an online fundraising concert to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic with performers including Elton John and Billie Eilish.
"[6][7] The Queen's University Belfast awarded Kelly an honorary doctorate in 2011[9] for "his service to the community and economy of Northern Ireland,"[6][7] and later that year Irish America again named him to their annual Business 100 list.
[1] The National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations awarded Kelly the Ellis Island Medal of Honor[7] in July 2012,[9] and the following August Business and Finance named him to their annual Global 100 list.
[6] Kelly has both Irish and American citizenship,[23] and he maintains residences in both Portroe, Ireland and New York City[10] with his wife Julia[8][16] and their family.