Kurt Close
President
“Work hard, have a good attitude, and do things the right way” –anonymous
Kurt is a transformational executive who brings both deep technical experience and keen leadership that touches all aspects of the agency’s sales, customer service, carrier marketing and value added teams across all branches. He sets and executes vision and culture, while building new revenue streams and the highly driven teams needed to achieve operational excellence.
Kurt was named President in August of 2021 after successfully overseeing all aspects of the property and casualty division for nearly three years, including production, account management, carrier marketing, loss control and personal lines. This included uniting branch offices from Mobile to Huntsville. Under his leadership, the property and casualty department met record revenue goals.
Today, Kurt serves all agency practices, including employee benefits, property and casualty and personal lines, as well as administrative and business services.
Kurt came to Valent from Travelers Insurance, where he spent 29 years in various leadership roles within the Fortune 500 company. His multiple positions within Travelers include a 10 year stint in Atlanta, but the bulk of his time was spent cultivating relationships in his home state of Alabama, where he led Travelers’ Middle Market practice for Alabama and Mississippi.
His experience in business insurance underwriting and carrier markets gives Kurt a very unique perspective from which to lead and serve our clients.
Originally from Sylacauga, Kurt graduated from Samford University with a mathematics degree while playing four years of Varsity Basketball. He met Tricia, his wife of over 30 years, while at Samford and together they have raised three children. Outside of work, much of Kurt’s time involves some combination of family, travel, and sports.