Cobbs Allen is pleased to welcome eight new associates to our corporate office— Meredith Carroll, Cameron Cartee, Elizabeth Davidson, Cindy Irwin, Katie Matthews, Holland Powell, Vannessa Smith, and Stacy Stepp.

Meredith Carroll joins as a Client Executive in our employee benefits department. While she is new to the insurance brokerage industry, Meredith has five years’ experience in human resource benefits at Sterne Agee. She graduated from Auburn University with a degree in journalism.

Cameron Cartee comes as a Junior Account Executive in property and casualty. She recently graduated from The University of Alabama with a degree in advertising, where she studied communication strategies and digital media campaigning. At school, Cameron was involved in the Advertising Federation, the Public Relations Student Society of America, and her sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta.

Elizabeth Davidson joins Cobbs Allen from Arthur J Gallagher & Company as a Senior Account Executive with the Employee Benefits division. She has over 10 years’ experience assisting mid-size and large employers with their employee benefits needs. Elizabeth graduated from Texas Christian University with a bachelor’s degree in advertising and public relations.

Cindy Irwin joins Cobbs Allen as Recruiting Manager. She has over 25 years of progressive human resources experience within the Insurance, financial services, healthcare, wealth management and HR consulting industries. Cindy will help source and hire top talent for Cobbs Allen.

Katie Matthews joins Cobbs Allen as a Claims Advocate, where she is beginning her career in insurance claims. In her role, she will work with clients to resolve their claims issues. Katie is currently working on her associates’ degree in business.

Holland Powell comes to Cobbs Allen from Arthur J Gallagher & Company as a Senior Benefits Consultant. He has nearly 40 years’ of experience within the industry, with more than 30 of those specifically in the employee benefits space.  He is a University of Alabama graduate and has served on the board for various philanthropic and civic organizations.

Vanness Smith comes as a Property and Casualty Marketing Manager. She most recently served as the Alabama Territory Manager for Berkley Southeast Insurance Group, where she held authority over underwriting, agency relations, and premium growth. Vannessa graduated from The University of Alabama with a degree in commerce and business administration and is now in her second year of law school at the Birmingham School of Law.

Stacy Stepp joins as a Senior Loss Control Consultant. He brings more than 15 years of industry experience to the department, including three years’ experience as an OSHA outreach trainer. Stacy earned his master’s degree in health education and promotion from Mississippi State University and is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.