Meet Our Team
Bill Brown
Managing Director, South Central
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 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
Vice President, Property and Casualty, South Central
Nita Ponnaganti
Vice President of Operations, South Central Region
Vice President of Operations, South Central Region
EXPERT EDUCATION
Events and Webinars
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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Employee Benefits
Dynamic Data: Strategies for Success
Join us for this session, as our experts will share how to utilize your organization’s data to create advanced and innovative strategies for success.
July 17, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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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.
July 23, 2025 at 12:00 pm CT | Virtual
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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Insights
Wealth Services
Protecting Your Business from the Loss of a Key Person
The unexpected loss of a key team member can disrupt operations and impact your bottom line. Explore how key person insurance can help your business stay resilient and maintain continuity during a critical transition.
May 20, 2025
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Wealth Services
Weekly Market Update
Stocks roared higher last week, powered by upbeat trade news and tame inflation reports.
May 19, 2025
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Agencies Push Pause Button on Enforcement of MHPAEA 2024 Final Rule
On May 15, 2025, the Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Treasury Department (collectively, the “Agencies”) released a statement regarding the Agencies’ recent request for abeyance of a lawsuit filed by the ERISA Industry Committee (“ERIC”) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that challenged certain aspects of Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) Final Rule (“2024 Final Rule”) relating to nonquantitative treatment limitation comparative analyses (“NQTL analyses”).
May 16, 2025
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Wealth Services
The Practical Value of Insuring Against Life’s Risks
Unexpected events can derail even the best-laid financial plans, yet many people remain underinsured. This article explores how the right coverage can help protect your income and support your long-term goals.
May 16, 2025
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