Cooper Johnson

Benefits Practice Leader

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. His leadership, guidance and influence touches every area of our agency.

Cooper is a longtime student of employee benefits. Having spent his entire career consulting in this space, he’s worked at the forefront of moving our agency’s benefits practice from a brokerage-only focus in the early 2000s to the post-ACA, “beyond benefits” and comprehensive health plan design consulting practice that is today. Under his leadership, our benefits team continues to expand, pivot and adapt to emerging benefits trends and to bring his knowledge and service to privately held businesses headquartered in the Southeast.

His team of benefits consultants, certified HR-advisors, data analysts, compliance and legal resources, and wellness and marketing veterans work with commercial clients of all sizes, from 50 employees to 5,000 and above.

Together they provide innovative improvements to plan designs that reduce the cost of providing benefits, with a service philosophy based on a high-touch, close partnership development with clients.

Cooper’s well known and respected in the medical insurance consulting space, bringing nearly 20 years working with clients to solve their problems. He joined Valent after EBSCO Industries acquired ANB Insurance Services in 2006.

Cooper obtained a bachelor’s degree from The University of Alabama in 1998 and an MBA from The University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2002. He received the Chartered Life Underwriter Designation in 2008, and currently serves on the Junior Board of Lifeline Children’s Services.  He’s married to Anna Brooke and they have five children.