Meet Our Team

    Bill Brown

    Managing Director, South Central
    Photo of Bill Brown

    Bill Brown serves as Managing Director, South Central Region, covering Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Missouri, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kansas and Kentucky. His responsibilities include oversight of employee benefits, property and casualty insurance, wealth services and retirement services across the region. Working closely with Alera Group’s senior leaders, practice leaders and fellow regional leaders, Bill is focused on enhancing growth activities, creating new opportunities for colleagues to improve client relationships and produce meaningful outcomes.

    One of the founding partners of Alera Group, Bill has over 20 years of industry experience. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in economics.

    Heather Eshaghpour

    Regional Vice President, Employee Benefits Practice Leader
    Heather Eshaghpour

    Heather is the Regional Employee Benefits Practice Leader.   In her role, Heather collaborates with firms across the region leading initiatives on our client experience, our people, growth, and operational efficiencies.  Heather sits on our national employee benefits leadership team working with other practice leaders to drive innovation and growth within the employee benefits practice.

    Heather has over 25 years of experience in employee benefits having worked previously for both small and national consulting firms in client-facing and leadership roles.    Heather lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, son, and two Labrador retrievers.   She is an avid Nashville Predators Hockey fan.

    Mike Inman

    Vice President, Property and Casualty, South Central
    Mike Inman

    Vice President, Property and Casualty, South Central

    Nita Ponnaganti

    Vice President of Operations, South Central Region
    Nita Ponnaganti

    Vice President of Operations, South Central Region

    EXPERT EDUCATION

    Events and Webinars

    Wealth Services

    State of the Markets

    Join us as we unveil the factors that drive the nation's financial pulse and how they may impact your personal finances.

    April 23, 2025 at 12:00 pm CT | Virtual

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    State of the Markets

    Employee Benefits

    Q2 2025 Quarterly Compliance Webinar

    Alera Group's quarterly employee benefits compliance roundup will help you stay current on the latest national regulatory developments impacting employers.

    May 6, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual

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    Employee Benefits

    2025 Healthcare and Employee Benefits Benchmarking Report: How Does Your Benefits Program Stack Up?

    In this session, our experts will dive into the results of our annual, market-leading benchmarking survey.

    June 26, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual

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    THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

    Insights

    Employee Benefits

    Deadline for San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance is approaching

    The annual San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance (SF HCSO) reporting by employers that have employees who work in the City of or County of San Francisco is due by May 2, 2025. Employers should be aware of the upcoming deadline even if they are not located in San Francisco.



    The SF HCSO requires large and medium-sized employers to provide covered employees with benefits equal to or greater than the expenditure rate. Covered employees are those who have been employed for more than 90 days and who regularly work at least eight hours per week within the City of and County of San Francisco.

    April 14, 2025

    Find out more

    Property and Casualty

    International Roadcheck Is May 13-15. Is Your Commercial Transportation Fleet Ready?

    For 72 hours next month, commercial motor vehicles and drivers throughout North America will be subject to what the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) calls a “high-visibility, high-volume” inspection and regulatory compliance enforcement initiative.



    The annual event, known as the International Roadcheck, will take place at weigh and inspection stations, temporary sites and locations selected by mobile patrols from May 13-15 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

    April 14, 2025

    Find out more

    Wealth Services

    Weekly Market Update

    Stocks ended the week with a strong gain as traders continued to focus on tariff talks while appearing to overlook upbeat news on inflation.

    April 14, 2025

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    Wealth Services

    Weekly Market Update

    Stocks fell broadly last week as domestic and foreign markets reacted to the White House’s tariffs.

    April 7, 2025

    Find out more