2025 Employee Benefits Market Trends (Part 1 of 3)

Regional Sales Leader, Employee Benefits

With more than 17 years of healthcare industry experience, Jared Bowcutt has built his career around growth, leadership, and helping organizations navigate complex challenges. He began his professional journey working in a family business before pursuing new opportunities within the healthcare sector. Over the next seven years, Jared worked across the DME, medical device, and hospital contracting markets, gaining broad industry knowledge and developing a passion for building trusted relationships. Since joining Brown & Brown, Jared has played a key leadership role in the firm's growth, helping lead the Dallas office, the Texas market, and now supporting teams across the Central North and Central South Regions.

Employee Benefits Middle Market Leader, North America Regional Managing Director, Retail

Vanessa Longnecker serves as Employee Benefits Middle Market Leader for North America and Retail Regional Managing Director at Brown & Brown. As a progressive industry thought leader, she is responsible for advancing employee benefits growth strategies, strengthening organizational performance, and driving innovative solutions that help customers, teammates, and communities thrive.

With extensive experience spanning employee benefits consulting, sales, customer service leadership, business operations, and talent development, Vanessa partners closely with retail and employee benefits teammates across the organization to accelerate growth, enhance operational effectiveness, and deliver exceptional customer outcomes. She plays a key leadership role in shaping and executing national Employee Benefits priorities, including middle market growth initiatives, service model evolution, retention strategies, operational excellence programs, and leadership development efforts. Known for her collaborative and results-driven approach, Vanessa works across markets and disciplines to align strategy with execution, fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement. She is passionate about building scalable operating models, modernizing service delivery, and equipping teams with the tools, technology, and resources needed to navigate an increasingly complex benefits landscape while delivering a best-in class customer experience.

Since joining Brown & Brown through acquisition in 2018, Vanessa has been instrumental in advancing strategic initiatives that strengthen the Employee Benefits practice, support sustainable growth, and position the organization for long term success. Her leadership has contributed to the development of national programs focused on customer retention, middle market expansion, service excellence, and teammate engagement. Beyond her professional responsibilities, Vanessa is committed to community involvement and actively supports a variety of nonprofit and industry organizations. She enjoys spending time with her husband, Jason, and their three children, and can often be found cheering from a hockey rink or lacrosse sideline amidst valued time with extended family and friends.

Senior Vice President, Operations Leader, Employee Benefits

As Texas Operations Leader, Adam Compton oversees operational strategy, process improvement, technology adoption, and team development within Brown & Brown's Employee Benefits business. Originally working in southern California before relocating to Texas in 2021, Adam brings a unique combination of operational insights and customer-focused leadership. Since joining Brown & Brown in 2014, he has been instrumental in building scalable processes, enhancing colleague experiences, and advancing technology initiatives across the organization. Adam is particularly passionate about innovation, knowledge management, and using emerging technologies to improve how teams serve customers. Through Benefits Breakdown, he shares practical insights on operations, leadership, workplace technology, and the evolving employee benefits industry.