As president of the Retail segment, Barrett Brown is responsible for leading Brown & Brown’s growing number of retail offices across the country and in select global markets. He also oversees Brown & Brown University, the company’s technical sales, service and leadership training program that provides vital training for Brown & Brown teammates throughout the organization. Barrett began his insurance career in the commercial account department at Chubb Group of Insurance Companies in 1996 before transitioning to Brown & Brown in 1999. During his time with the company, he has led various Brown & Brown entities and continues to serve as a Retail regional president with offices in Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, Wisconsin and Ireland.

Barrett’s emphasis has been on revamping marketing infrastructure and improving business development efforts for the Retail segment. He has a disciplined focus on doing what is best for our customers and is driven to deliver agile solutions and improved customer experiences today and into the future. Barrett believes that teammates are the lifeblood of our business. He remains true to the Brown & Brown vision of being in the people recruiting and enhancing business, which includes finding talent, mentoring and aligning teammates across the business and giving them the opportunity to grow and succeed within the organization. He resides in Georgia with his wife and two children.

Barrett is a graduate of the University of Florida. 

Mark Abate serves as a  member of the Brown & Brown Retail Senior Leadership team. In his current role, Mark leads the Southborough, Massachusetts office, and select Pharmacy and Audit solutions across Employee Benefits―including PillarRx, Remedy Analytics and Claim Technologies Incorporated (CTI). ​

Mark was previously a founding Partner of Strategic Benefit Advisors, leading and growing that consulting business for more than 15 years before its acquisition by Brown & Brown in 2015. His 35-year career in employee benefits began in group underwriting at Hartford Life Insurance Company and also includes 15 years as a Consultant and Principal in Mercer’s Boston office.​

As a broad-based health and welfare generalist, Mark spends considerable time with customers to help understand their business priorities and objectives and develop tailored benefit strategies to meet their unique organizational and workforce priorities. During his career, he has served as lead strategist for many large employers across multiple industry verticals, including health care, retail and technology. Mark brings in-depth knowledge of all aspects of employer benefit programs, including proven cost management techniques, benefit design, compliance issues, vendor marketplace and plan funding and administration. ​

Mark is locally recognized as a specialist  in his field. He has been quoted in the Boston Globe, Boston Business Journal and Providence Business Journal, interviewed by WBZ Radio and NPR, and published in the Handbook of Business Strategy. He is also an active speaker on the topic of health care and cost management, presenting to many local groups including the New England Employee Benefits Council (where he is an Emeriti Board Member), the Maine Benefits Council and the New Hampshire Council on Wellness. ​

Mike Bruce joined GRP in 2015 to build the Retail broking division and in December 2018 was appointed to the newly created role of Group Managing Director. Following completion of the investment by Searchlight Capital Partners into GRP in July 2020, he became CEO of the business.

GRP was acquired by Brown & Brown in 2022, and Mike was recently promoted to lead its European strategy and operations.

Mike graduated in Mathematics & Physics from the University of York followed by a career in IT and Business consultancy, specialising in the Insurance and Broking Sectors.

John Esposito is a senior vice president (SVP) for Brown & Brown, Inc. and serves as a senior leader​ within Brown & Brown’s Retail segment, where he is responsible for all retail operations across 21 offices​ in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington. John joined Brown & Brown in January 2002. He has held several leadership roles and exemplifies the company culture centered on meritocracy. John first worked in the home office in Daytona Beach, Florida, as an executive in the marketing department.

He obtained his Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation in 2003, was promoted to a sales leadership position with Brown & Brown’s Texas office in 2004, and in 2005 John was promoted to a​ corporate leadership position in the Tallahassee, Florida, office. He successfully helped position the agency to become one of the premier insurance agencies in Northwest Florida. John continued in that role until 2009 when he moved west to lead Brown & Brown’s Phoenix, Arizona, office. He was promoted to his current position of Retail segment regional president in June of 2016.

Before launching his insurance career, John played​ baseball for the University of Mississippi, and he was the assistant baseball coach at Jefferson Davis Community College for two years where he helped lead the team to a National Championship in 1998.

John has had several mentors throughout his life and is committed to giving back at every turn and leading by example to help others. Whether serving as a mentor or supporting his local community, John is focused on making a positive impact. Throughout his career, John has served on numerous boards, including the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation of Arizona, various agent advisory councils for carriers and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Volusia County. John enjoys family vacations, golf, boating, attending live sports events and concerts, and his beloved Chicago Cubs. 

John earned a degree in international business from Florida State University in 2001. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona, with his wife, Melanie, and their three children. 

Committed to building trusted relationships, demonstrating integrity through exceptional service and meeting or exceeding expectations at every turn, Mike Keeby has established himself as a widely respected member of the South Florida business community and the broader insurance industry. A dynamic, driven and fast-paced leader, his teams and offices continually achieve recognition for growth and profitability as well as superb customer service. Appointed as a senior leader within Brown & Brown’s Retail segment in 2016, Mike now oversees Florida, the Carolinas and Virginia, and continues to focus on driving top-line organic growth and attracting and​ retaining high-performing teammates.

Mike started his insurance career in personal lines in Denver, Colorado, with Allstate Insurance Company. He went on to run Metropolitan Property and Casualty in St. Louis, Missouri, before jumping into the independent insurance business in Miami, Florida. Mike helped grow his firm into one of South Florida’s largest independent offices with more than $18 million in revenue and more than 100 teammates. In 2008, that firm was purchased by Brown & Brown, at which time Mike took over responsibilities for the Palm​ Beaches and eventually, Fort Lauderdale.

He is an avid golfer and enjoys fishing. Mike is married to Wendy and has two children. His daughter is a property broker within Peachtree Special Risk, a subsidiary of Brown & Brown, and his son is an Atlanta-based realtor.

Mike graduated with a marketing degree from Florida International University and holds numerous licenses as well as a CIC designation. He has served on several non-profit boards in South Florida and is a past president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Dade County. 

Rich Knudson is a senior vice president (SVP) for Brown & Brown, Inc. and serves as a senior leader within Brown & Brown’s Retail segment. In a nearly three-decade career, Rich’s vast experience extends from claims administration and lead producer to office and regional executive management. His industry knowledge and capabilities create impactful insight that he shares with his team to help them generate opportunities, understand local market needs, implement products and solutions and learn how to effectively support each customer.​

He started his insurance career in 1995 as an independent claims adjuster before making a career change to the agency side of the business as a producer with Poe & Brown in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1998. Rich was asked to lead the Brown & Brown office in Clark, New Jersey. After growing the business by more than 50 percent, Rich was promoted and asked to run one of Brown & Brown’s larger offices in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 2006. After successfully building that business by more than 20 percent and growing his team over nearly 10 years, Rich was promoted to regional vice president in 2011. He was named regional president in 2015 with​ responsibilities in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York.

Currently,  Rich serves on the board of the Nerney Leadership Institute at Cabrini University. He previously served on the board for the School of Risk Management at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is a past board member of the Children’s Home of Easton in Pennsylvania. Rich enjoys golf, skiing, paddleboarding, fishing and spending time with family and friends. He lives in central New Jersey with his wife, Angela, and their son.

He holds property & casualty and health insurance licenses in most of the 50 states and has his CIC designation. Rich earned a Bachelor of Science in political science from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. ​

Don McGowan is a senior vice president (SVP) for Brown & Brown, Inc. and serves as a senior leader within Brown & Brown’s Retail segment. His customer-centric approach and focus on top and bottom-line growth, along with his intense commitment to building an extremely talented and entrepreneurial team, has helped lead the Northeast region to great success. Don’s close teammate relationships have created an energy and passion prevalent throughout the region. His commitment to seeking and attracting top talent through the acquisition and individual hiring process has been a major factor in contributing to the region’s growth.

He joined the team via the acquisition process in 2004 and held positions in sales, office leadership and regional management, before being promoted to his current role of SVP and regional president. His personal interests are first and foremost his family, friends and teammates, all of whom he considers to be family. He also enjoys working out, golf, boating, reading and jigsaw puzzles. Don resides in Laconia, New Hampshire, and Bedford, Massachusetts, with his wife, Kelly. He has one daughter and one son, who is a Brown & Brown producer in the Boston area.

Don graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

Mike serves as a member of the Brown & Brown Retail Senior Leadership team. He also leads the Brown & Brown of Kentucky office and is the President of Brown & Brown Dealer Services, a division within Brown & Brown, devoted to auto and RV dealer training and F&I products. Offices operating under the BBDS umbrella include Automotive Development Group, F&I Resources, Dealer Associates, Dealer Admin Services, MBA Insurance (an RV rental insurance office) and Vehicle Administrative Services (a roadside assistance and ancillary product provider).​

Mike started his insurance career at Commonwealth Life Insurance Company. In 1991, he began working at Reed Brothers Insurance, a small main street agency in his hometown with revenues of around $400,000. In 1996, he became a partner and opened his second main street shop in a neighboring town. Mike started a niche marketing business selling commercial insurance to dealers in RV, used auto, powersports and manufactured housing. The revenues for his agency exceeded $4 million in 2008. That same year, Mike sold the niche marketing book of business with revenues of $2.4 million and joined Brown & Brown’s Retail segment as President of Brown & Brown of Kentucky.​

Always pursuing new avenues for business growth, Scott Penny has been an integral part of Brown & Brown’s diversification of capabilities and strategic expansion across the U.S. and select global markets. As executive vice president and chief acquisitions officer, Scott’s aggressive approach and knowledge of Brown & Brown’s business segments drive the organization’s expansion strategy. Scott has been a part of Brown & Brown for more than 30 years. He started in sales in the Retail segment in 1989, earned the company’s top sales award in 1993 and has worked in and held senior leadership roles in all four of Brown & Brown’s business segments.​

His extensive and ongoing operations experience across the enterprise helps him create and facilitate acquisitions that fit culturally and make sense financially. Before taking on the role of chief acquisitions officer, Scott held several executive positions, including regional president, regional executive vice president and office leader. He also worked as a producer and marketing representative. Scott has been a part of the senior leadership team since 2001. Scott has served in various advisory and board capacities for Central Indiana Insurance Agents, United Way of Volusia County, United Way of Indianapolis and the Boys & Girls Clubs of​ Indianapolis. Scott resides in Lake Mary, Florida, with his wife and three children.

Scott has also served on various regional and national insurance carrier advisory councils, including The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers and Council on Employee Benefits Executives Board. He holds a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation. Scott is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he received a degree in political science. 

Mary Raveling brings more than 30 years of insurance industry experience to her role as a member of Senior​ Leadership—Retail segment for Brown & Brown, Inc. Based in Minneapolis, Mary focuses on strategy and​ innovation to develop new tools to spur business development and profitable growth. She has worked with many large Fortune 500 corporations and mid-size businesses to plan, design, and implement customized risk management products and services throughout her career.

A broker at heart, Mary loves understanding​ the complexities of customer issues and finding customized solutions. In addition, having been on both sides of insurance acquisitions, Mary brings first-hand experience to the integration process and appreciates the best each has to offer to make us better together. Before Brown & Brown acquired Hays Companies in 2018, Mary served as Hays Companies’ national president of property and casualty. As president, she oversaw national property and casualty brokerage teams, coordinated marketing and managed insurer relationships for all offices across Hays Companies. Before joining Hays Companies in 1996, she was the marketing manager for Sedgwick. Mary started her insurance career as a teen in her family’s agency.

Mary holds the Chartered Property Casualty​ Underwriter (CPCU) designation, serves on several insurer advisory boards and supports several local nonprofit operations. She enjoys gardening, the outdoors and football, and she is a steadfast Minnesota Vikings fan. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and has four sons and one daughter.

As senior vice president (SVP) for Brown & Brown, Inc. and a senior leader within Brown & Brown’s Retail segment, Paul Rogers is responsible for the overall national strategy, growth and retention of customers for all employee benefits consulting and brokerage services at Brown & Brown. Paul has extensive experience in providing customers with innovative solutions and technology to help meet their needs. He brings all Brown & Brown’s employee benefits resources together in one unit focused on collaboration, harmonizing the employee benefits strategy and reinforcing Brown & Brown’s commitment to all markets in the employee benefits space.

He encourages teammates to focus on the people, resources and technology that can help assist their customers in developing ways to serve their employees. Paul also is president and chief operating officer of Pacific Resources, a Brown & Brown subsidiary, where Paul shares responsibility for the overall growth, operations and P&L of the company. Paul works closely with senior leaders in the insurance carrier and TPA community to ensure the development of solutions that meet the current and emerging needs of Pacific Resources’ customers.​

Before becoming Pacific Resources president, Paul served as executive vice president and led new business development at Pacific Resources. Prior to Pacific Resources, Paul held various management and business development positions at UNUM and Liberty Mutual. A veteran of the financial services industry, Paul worked for State Street Bank & Trust in accounting and management positions. Paul is a frequent guest speaker and presenter at employee benefit forums, carrier conferences and other key industry events. He serves as a board​ advisor for Clearsurance, Cogito Corporation and the Professional Disability Associates. 

Paul holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Francis Xavier University.

As the chief information officer (CIO) for Brown & Brown, Ignus Bezuidenhout cultivates business-aligned teams that deliver innovative solutions across the enterprise. With 30 years of technology solutions leadership experience, he focuses on developing solutions that increase efficiency for teammates and their customers. Ignus and his team apply cutting-edge and forward-looking technology to improve the small details that lead to successful business operations on a large scale.

Ignus began his extensive technology career as a developer in South Africa. He later moved to Chicago to work on Y2K projects, then began to shift his focus to the financial services industry in 1997 and the insurance sector in 2011. Before his current role, Ignus was CTO for Brown & Brown, senior vice president and divisional chief information officer of the BB&T Insurance (now Truist) wholesale and premium finance divisions.

Joining Brown & Brown in February 2020 as an enterprise software architect, Ignus worked diligently until his promotion to chief technology officer in January 2021. With decades of technical experience and a passion for collaborating on solutions, Ignus continues to develop business processes and implement new technology that helps to reduce costs, reduce risk, improve customer satisfaction and allow business growth.

Ignus enjoys spending his time playing golf, mountain biking and participating in triathlons. He lives in Wake Forest, North Carolina, with his three children, and primarily works remotely out of the Brown & Brown Daytona Beach, Florida, campus.

As a Chief Financial Officer for the nearly $2 billion Retail segment, Joe leads and is responsible for financial operations, teammate development, and strategic planning for over 100 profit centers across the United States.

Joe began his career at Brown & Brown in June 2006 as part of the Internal Audit Financial Team. He has worked in many of the positions in the accounting and finance departments serving as – Acquisition DD Team, Regional Operations Supervisor, Accounting Leader and his current position.