Teneo appoints former US Ambassador Dana Shell Smith

Global advisory and public relations firm Teneo has appointed former US Ambassador Dana Shell Smith, whose role will be mainly in supporting the firm’s continued growth in the Middle East and Africa.

“We are delighted to welcome Ambassador Smith as a Senior Advisor to support Teneo’s business growth across the Middle East,” said Paul Keary, CEO of Teneo.

“We are seeing multinational clients increasingly interested in expanding and deepening their operations and relationships across the region where Ambassador Smith is incredibly well respected.”

Smith was previously the US ambassador to Qatar for the period of 2014 to 2017, where she was instrumental in advocating for business and investment in the region. In her 25 years as a diplomat, she helped to foster military partnerships and cooperation in culture, sports, and education.

Ambassador Smith played an important role in negotiating base access for international coalition forces in their fight against ISIS, which was at its height of conquest in Syria and Iraq during Smith’s tenure. The Islamicists held about a third of Syria and 40% of Iraq in 2015, before a gradual decline starting in 2017 led to their eventual defeat.

During this time, she also played a role in growing trade relations between US and Qatar, leading to an increase in foreign direct investments between the two countries.

“I am very excited to be joining the Teneo team. I have long admired the firm’s unique advisory model. No other firm combines strategic, reputational, operational and financial advisory at this scale, and I look forward to working closely with the Teneo team in the Middle East and around the globe,” said Dana Shell Smith.

The ambassador previously worked for the State Department in strategic communications, global media relations, and crisis communications under Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. She speaks Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, and Hebrew.

Teneo, headquartered in the US, was founded in 2011 and has around 1,600 employees in over 40 offices around the world. The firm has provided consulting services for clients such as FIFA, Purdue Pharma, the city Boston in its bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, and McDonalds in its campaign against the push for a $15 an hour minimum wage.