Kurt Close has been promoted to president of Valent Group, a subsidiary of EBSCO Industries. Valent provides business insurance, employer benefits and personal insurance services to companies and individuals in the Huntsville area, and throughout the state.

Kurt takes the helm after serving as Valent Group’s chief operating officer and overseeing the agency’s Property and Casualty division and agency operations teams. Under his leadership, the division was restructured for optimal performance and sustained success, ultimately delivering record growth of 21% in the most recent fiscal year. Prior to Valent Group, Close spent nearly 30 years at Travelers in various insurance leadership roles.