Arkansas Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin said Tuesday that he's started his own company and that London-based corporate communications advisory firm Brunswick Group is a client.
The Little Rock Republican will serve as senior counselor for the Brunswick Group, the company said in a written statement.
Previous lieutenant governors typically have maintained private employment or had other sources of income.
Griffin, who had worked since 2015 for Virginia-based communications firm Purple Strategies as an Arkansas-based senior adviser for communications and growth strategies for business clients, said in an interview Tuesday that he left the firm last summer.
He formed his own company, Black Hawk Strategies LLC, last fall to do similar strategic communications work for out-of-state companies and to have more control over which clients to take, he said.
Black Hawk Strategies was incorporated on Aug. 29 in Arkansas with Griffin as the organizer and incorporator, according to the secretary of state's website.
Griffin said he will "focus on business that has absolutely nothing to do with the state" and won't have any governmental, lobbying or political clients.
"Corporate client names, as is the normal practice and was my last firm's practice, are not public," he said.
"I'm very, very, very sensitive to any potential conflicts [of interest]," he said. "I avoid any perception of any conflict."
The Brunswick Group said in a written statement that Griffin has more than two decades of experience at the intersection of business, law, government and politics, and "worked on some of the most complex and critical policy issues of our time."
"His insights and expertise will further enhance the firm's capabilities and benefit clients. Tim will focus on public affairs, corporate reputation and crisis matters as well as digital campaign strategies," the company said in its written statement.
Griffin said digital campaign strategies will be for "business campaigns."
Griffin served as the state's 2nd District congressman from 2011-15. Among other things, he also served as an aide to President George W. Bush, served as an interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas and worked for the Republican National Committee.
Griffin has been the state's lieutenant governor since January 2015 and has served in the U.S. Army Reserve for 20 years, where he holds the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Working with the Brunswick Group provides him with "incredible opportunities to work with more disciplines like cybersecurity" through improved communications on these issues by businesses to different audiences, he said.
"I will provide counsel and advice to them," he said, adding that the London-based company has 23 offices in 14 nations across the world.
The lieutenant governor presides over the state Senate when the Legislature is in session, and promotes legislation and causes that the officeholder favors. For example, Griffin has promoted exempting military retirement benefits from the state's income taxes.
The lieutenant governor's salary is $42,315 a year.
Under Amendment 96 to the Arkansas Constitution -- approved by voters in November -- the lieutenant governor no longer serves as acting governor when the governor is outside the state.
Lieutenant governors in Arkansas have come from various employment backgrounds and have included attorneys, business owners, ministers, teachers and farmers.
Metro on 01/04/2017