Leadership

Day to day, Paul does what most insurance agency presidents do: establish long-term plans, business goals and organizational structure; identify talented employees who will be our next agency leaders; maintain a high level of interaction and collaboration across the agency; and ensure client and carrier satisfaction.

But when all is said and done, what he’s really doing is cultivating a company culture where trusted teams, shared vision, collaboration and a standard of excellence coalesce into superior client service —earning him the more important (though nonofficial) title of “CIV” — Chief Insurance Visionary.

As our employee benefits practice leader, Cooper oversees the entirety of our benefits practice at all branch locations. Based in Birmingham, he has built a “beyond benefits” approach to solving the most complex people problems through a high-touch, high-results, holistic approach to benefits in the ACA age. And just as his practice goes “beyond benefits” at the client level, his leadership, guidance and influence touches every area of our agency.

Allen leads our property and casualty group by solving complicated insurance problems through keen knowledge and industry insights. He brings innovative new ideas and technologies to improve all our P&C partners’ insurance programs, while at the same time serving as a mentor for our newer sales professionals. Previously one of the top 10 percent of producers for an international insurance firm, Allen works to set high standards of customized service for Valent Group and coaches our team to reach those standards.

Kurt is the most recent addition to the Valent team, joining the group in April of 2019 as Senior Vice-President of Property and Casualty.  While his responsibilities include direct oversight of the brokering and servicing aspects of the organization, Kurt’s main focus is partnering with the sales team to achieve the results our clients have come to expect. His experience on the carrier side of our business gives him a very unique perspective which allows him to partner with our carriers to ultimately provide maximum coverage and service to our clients.

Hawkins brings a wide lens of experience to our Employee Benefits team, having previously managed employer health plans for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama and led the corporate HR department for Mrs. Stratton’s Salads. His combined employer and carrier perspective is highly regarded among our clients, as he delivers strategies and results that require navigating both worlds effectively.

Sonia lives professionally by this one motto: “Be the bacon.” Because bacon takes everything to the next level, and that’s exactly what she does for our agency in her role as vice president of marketing and corporate communications. Plus, watch out – she leads her own cardio kickboxing and hip-hop workout program. Jab, Cross, Hook, y’all.

Brandon works with our branch locations and business units to develop and execute strategic plans and growth initiatives. He also works closely with the acquisitions team at EBSCO Industries Inc., our parent company, to develop opportunities for the agency to grow its geographical footprint. And his prior fame as a college golfer makes him one of the most sought-after team players for any agency tournament.

If employees are an organization’s greatest asset, then Leticia’s desire to cultivate a culture of growth and development inspires our team to “Be the Difference”. Leticia joined Valent Group in 2018 to recruit talented insurance professionals and provide day-to-day strategy and consultation to our management team on HR related issues; ensuring our talented team have the tools and resources in place to be successful.

Forrest serves as management liaison for Valent Group’s Benefits Practice. His executive leadership experience — serving as a C-Suite player responsible for HR leadership with companies of up to 1,000 employees and his leadership roles in the HR community — is leveraged daily to guide our benefits clients through their most complex HR challenges. Forrest first joined Valent Group to provide benefits consulting services to support his company’s growing benefits objectives. He later crossed over to the benefits consulting world in 2014, when Valent Group recruited him as an in-house HR compliance and benefits technical expert.