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Read the press release here.

Police Commissioner Kelly's Next Career: Professional Speaker

By Colby Hamilton | December 16, 2013 3:35pm
 Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly will join the Greater Talent Network as a paid speaker on January 1, 2014.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly will join the Greater Talent Network as a paid speaker on January 1, 2014.
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

CIVIC CENTER — Come January 1, outgoing police commissioner Ray Kelly knows what he’ll be doing for his next gig.

Weeks after mayor-elect Bill de Blasio tapped former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton to take the top job at Police Headquarters, Kelly has signed up to work for the speakers bureau at the New York-based Greater Talent Network, the company announced in a press release Monday.

“As a speaker, Commissioner Kelly’s wisdom will inspire and inform, and provide vital lessons toward understanding the role of leadership in a complex world,” Don Epstein, GTN’s CEO, said in a statement.

The speakers bureau is already home to a number of “leading counter-terrorism and law enforcement experts,” such as former National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell and former FBI Director Louis Freeh. It also includes authors such as Sebastian Junger and Nicholas Sparks, who wrote "The Notebook."

“I’m looking forward to sharing the lessons I’ve learned leading the finest police force in the world as we met countless challenges every day,” Commissioner Kelly said in a statement released by the company. “I’m excited about this opportunity and looking forward to this new challenge.”

Kelly, who has served as police commissioner twice — first under former mayor David Dinkins from 1992 to 1994, and then under Mayor Michael Bloomberg from 2002 until the present — was scheduled to have his term end on Dec. 31. 

A spokeswoman for GTN said Kelly has no bookings as of yet, and declined to discuss his speaking fee or whether Kelly was paid a signing bonus.