Richard C. Powell is the ex-husband of Dina Powell. (teneoholdings.com)
Richard C. Powell is the ex-husband of Dina Powell, deputy national security advisor for strategy to President Donald Trump.
This week, some on the alt-right have been targeting Richard Powell because the company he works for has a relationship with Bill Clinton. However, Jason Miller, the former chief spokesman for the Trump campaign, also works for this company.
So who is Richard C. Powell, the ex-husband of Dina Powell, and what does he do for Teneo Holdings? Here’s what you need to know.
1. Richard C. Powell is the President of Teneo Strategy
Teneo Strategy is an advisory firm located in New York City. (LinkedIn)
Richard Powell works as the president of Teneo Strategy.
This is a C-suite advisory firm which launched in 2011 and which is headquartered in New York City. It offers services like corporate strategy, corporate risk, crisis management, media relations, and investor relations.
On the official website, Teneo describes itself as, “Exclusively dedicated to advising the leaders of the world’s most complex organizations. Our 12 operating divisions collaboratively solve the most pressing reputational, transformational & capital markets issues.”
2. Powell Previously Worked for Bloomberg
Michael Powell is a former employee of Bloomberg. (Bloomberg.com)
Before his job at Teneo Strategy, Richard C. Powell worked for Bloomberg.
According to Bloomberg‘s website, Powell oversaw “the expansion of Bloomberg’s communications strategy and infrastructure to support the global growth in new and existing markets.”
Before joining Bloomberg, Powell was the COO of Burson-Marsteller, a public relations and communications firm, where he counseled clients such as Coca-Cola, HP and Accenture, according to his profile on Teneo Strategy.
Another previous job of Powell’s was as managing director of Quinn Gillespie & Associates, a Washington, D.C. lobbying firm.
3. Bill Clinton is a Former Paid Advisor for Teneo
Bill and Hillary Clinton on November 7th, 2016 in Philadelphia. (Getty)
Teneo Strategy was founded by Doug Band, who is the former personal assistant and counselor to President Bill Clinton. Band also helped Bill Clinton found the Clinton Global Initiative, and he worked for the William J. Clinton Foundation.
Doug Band still serves as the president of Teneo Holdings, whereas Richard Powell is the president of Teneo Strategy.
According to the Teneo website, Band was also “part of the negotiation team that handled all aspects of Hillary Clinton’s becoming Secretary of State.”
In addition, Bill Clinton himself formerly served in a paid advisory role for Teneo. However, in 2012, his advisory role ended as he became a client of the firm. A spokesman for the company, Matt McKenna, told Politico that Bill Clinton remains a “a friend and an unpaid adviser to Teneo and its founders.”
4. Huma Abedin Previously Worked for Teneo
Huma Abedin and Hillary Clinton. (Getty)
While she worked with Hillary Clinton at the State Department, Huma Abedin also worked for Teneo.
A leaked 2012 email published by Politico showed Doug Band, president of Teneo Holdings, asking Abedin for help getting Judith Rodin, a Teneo client, appointed to a White House position. The email subject line read, “She is expecting us to help her get appointed to this.”
“Judy rodin,” Band wrote to Abedin in the email. “Huge foundation/cgi supporter and close pal of wjc[.] Teneo reps her as well[.] Can you help?”
This was an unpaid position which Rodin did not end up receiving.
5. Former Trump Spokesperson Jason Miller Now Works for Teneo
Generally not mentioned in the alt-right conspiracy theories surrounding Richard C. Powell and Teneo is the fact that a former Trump strategist now works for the company.
In January 2017, Jason Miller, the chief spokesman for Donald Trump during the presidential campaign, joined Teneo Strategy as a managing director.
“Mr. Miller, who will be based in Teneo’s Washington, D.C. office, brings more than two decades of strategic communications, reputation management, public relations, political and ad-making experience to Teneo,” the company said in a statement at the time. “He has significant expertise advising major corporations across a wide range of areas including: crisis management, business strategy, media relations and issues management. He has also worked as an advisor to a number of senior political figures and campaigns.
Correction: An earlier version of this post misidentified Richard Powell as Dina Powell’s husband. He is her ex-husband, not her husband.