As a life-long conservative, US Navy veteran, Fortune 500 company leader, small business owner and committed family man, Charlie Collins will bring a broad range of life experience to office in Little Rock. You can count on him to support conservative principles today, tomorrow, the next day and every day after that. Core principles like this—It’s Free enterprise, not big government, but free enterprise that creates the path to good jobs, economic growth, and prosperity for all. Charlie is pro-life and a life member of the NRA.
Charlie was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in Livonia, a nearby suburb. After high school graduation in 1981, he left to attend the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Shaking President Ronald Reagan’s hand at graduation in 1985 is still one of his fondest memories.
In the year following graduation from the Naval Academy he was commissioned a Naval Intelligence officer, married Leeann (his wife of almost 25 years), and completed his masters degree in quantitative economics from George Washington University. Following Naval Intelligence School, he was assigned to serve aboard the aircraft carrier USS America CV-66. After completing his 2 ½ year tour aboard ship, Charlie was assigned as a Soviet military capabilities instructor at the Navy & Marine Corps Intelligence Center and gave training presentations all over the world.After completing five years of active Navy service, Charlie joined Procter & Gamble at their Cincinnati, OH headquarters and moved up the management ranks. He continued serving as an active Navy reservist as well, earning eventual promotion to Lieutenant Commander. Charlie was transferred to the Procter & Gamble Wal-Mart Global Customer Team in Fayetteville, AR in 1996 with Leeann and their four toddlers (Jordan was three and the triplets, Andrew, Jamie and Austin, were almost two).
Charlie and Leeann quickly realized that Northwest Arkansas was the place where they would settle down and raise their family. Charlie resigned from the Navy Reserve and was honorably discharged after 12 years combined service so he would have more weekends at home with his young children. At Procter & Gamble, he was promoted to Associate Director, responsible for the $750+ million Wal-Mart Beauty Care sales team. After 13 years at Procter & Gamble, Charlie was recruited by Eastman Kodak to be Vice-President and Wal-Mart sales team leader. After two and half years with Kodak, Heinz recruited him as Vice-President managing their half-billion dollar US Wal-Mart business.
While corporate America was challenging and exciting, Charlie was lured away by an offer to be the co-owner of a small entrepreneurial business. He and his partner have run Crown Partners Executive Search together for the past four years, helping to match executive talent to business needs in Northwest Arkansas and across the country.
Charlie has been active in the community as well. He is a member of the First Christian Church in Fayetteville and has served in a variety of roles, including Elder, Trustee, and Sunday school teacher, and he just completed a two year term as Chairman of the Board in December 2009. He currently serves as the President of his neighborhood Property Owners Association and is active as a Boy Scout parent (his two sons are working on their Eagle Scout rank). Charlie is a member of the Arkansas Chapter of the US Naval Academy Alumni Association, the American Legion, and a Life Member of the National Rifle Association.
Charlie was appointed by the Governor to the Selective Service Appeals Board for the western district of Arkansas and has served as Chairman for the past five years. He also serves on the Third Congressional District, USNA Nomination Interview Committee. Charlie has been active in the Republican Party as a member of the Washington County Republican Committee for nearly ten years and the group’s Executive Committee for the past five.
Charlie’s four children will all attend Fayetteville High School next fall, so his wife agrees that now is the time for him to pursue his passion of serving you by making state government smaller and more effective while helping to turn Arkansas into a good jobs magnet.