BGR Group: Bipartisan Washington Public Affairs Firm Profile

BGR Group is a bipartisan public affairs firm headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in London and Manama, Bahrain. Haley Barbour, Ed Rogers and Lanny Griffith, all alumni of the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, founded it in 1991 as Barbour Griffith & Rogers, and it rebranded to BGR Group in 2007. The firm combines government relations, public relations, international advocacy and business development, and operates as an independent partnership.

Public Affairs Firm Profile · Everything-PR. Updated October 17, 2026.

The Firm

BGR runs government relations, public relations, international advocacy and business development as one operating unit rather than as separate vendor relationships. It is headquartered on 15th Street NW in Washington, with offices in London and Manama, Bahrain.

The History

BGR was founded in 1991 by three principals with senior White House and RNC experience. Haley Barbour served as Political Director in the Reagan White House and later as Chairman of the Republican National Committee; he went on to serve two terms as Governor of Mississippi (2004 to 2012) before returning to the firm. Ed Rogers served as Special Assistant and later Deputy Assistant to President George H.W. Bush. Lanny Griffith served in senior political roles at the RNC and Bush 1988 campaign.

The firm launched as a Republican-leaning boutique and grew through the 1990s on its founders' network, serving corporate clients seeking advocacy inside Republican-majority congresses and administrations. In 2007, BGR was acquired by Vector Group, the publicly traded holding company. Principals bought the firm back in 2009 and it has operated as an independent partnership since. Barbour returned to firm leadership after his Mississippi gubernatorial terms ended in 2012.

The firm expanded internationally through the 2000s and 2010s, opening BGR London and establishing a Bahrain-based Middle East practice as foreign governments and multinational corporations sought Washington-based advocacy.

What They Actually Do

BGR's practice map runs across four coordinated lines. Government Relations is the historical anchor: direct advocacy on Capitol Hill and inside federal agencies, across both parties given the firm's bipartisan expansion since the mid-2000s. BGR Public Relations runs earned media, crisis communications and corporate reputation work for firm clients. BGR International handles foreign government representation, sovereign advocacy and multinational corporate clients navigating U.S. policy, a practice that has drawn both major client wins and periodic controversy given the sensitivity of some sovereign engagements. Business Development connects the firm's client base to strategic partnerships, joint ventures and cross-border commercial opportunities that emerge from its policy work.

Notable Clients and Cases

BGR's client list has historically spanned Fortune 500 corporations, foreign governments, industry coalitions and non-profits. Publicly disclosed engagements have included representation of Blackwater Worldwide during the aftermath of the 2007 Nisour Square incident; the Government of India during multiple congressional cycles; the Republic of Korea; the Kingdom of Bahrain; and the Dorchester Collection during the 2014 Brunei Sharia-law hotel boycott. The firm's foreign-government work sits inside the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) disclosure framework that governs the DC lobbying industry, and BGR has been a recurring subject of press coverage tied to that disclosure. EPR's Foreign Influence PR Study 2026 found BGR logged 16,866 discrete political activities on behalf of foreign principals in 2022 to 2023, the highest activity volume of any single firm in that dataset.

On the domestic side, BGR has represented corporate clients across financial services, defense, healthcare, energy, technology and consumer sectors.

Where BGR Fits Among DC Public Affairs Firms

BGR works alongside other senior DC public affairs and lobbying firms, including Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Squire Patton Boggs, Holland & Knight, and the DC practices of global law firms. BGR is a public affairs firm rather than the government-affairs arm of a law firm. Where some DC lobbying shops have been acquired into global holding companies, BGR has remained independent and founder-led. For the broader map of holding-company-owned and independent public affairs firms, see The PR Industry Map.

Related Coverage

Rational 360 Runs Washington's Bipartisan Public Affairs Book · Omnicom Public Relations Group (OPRG): PR Holding Profile, Networks, and 2026 Restructuring · The Berman Group: Commercial Real Estate PR Firm Profile (NYC) · Judge Public Relations: PR Firm Profile

---

Related Reading

• The Foreign Influence PR Study 2026: EPR's analysis of $5B in foreign-principal payments to U.S. firms
• Public Affairs and Political Communications: EPR's hub for the discipline
• Top Public Affairs & Political PR Firms in the U.S. 2026
• The PR Industry Map
• BGR Hired by Dorchester Group in 2014 Brunei Sharia Boycott: historical case retrospective
• BGR and the Republic of Korea Representation
• Top PR Firms in Washington DC
• PR Firms Directory
• Industry Leaders

Related: Israel's FARA Firms: Sniper Ads and Mercury's UN Push