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Founder President, First Texas Alliance Corp
Bob started Benefit Management
Group in 1984 as a benefit consultant, which through time and growth morphed
into BMG Financial Group. As the 90’s
came the focus changed to utilizing technology to leverage services from staff,
advisors, and providers within a virtual corporation. By 1997 Bob had
successfully converted the agency to a virtual corporation utilizing the
internet to develop strategic alliances with professionals in specific areas of
expertise, and BMG Financial Group became First Texas Alliance Corporation.
During that same time, Bob
created, developed and sold SIDACO, an administration company specializing in
the administration of self-insured dental plans, as well as Trinity Software
Development. From 1996 to 2002 he served
as a board member of a nationally recognized technology club consisting of more
than 1200 members. In 2001 he accepted the nomination as president elect and
served for 1 year before a major insurance company absorbed the technology
club.
Bob is a Qualifying and Life
member of the million dollar round table, a member of The Texas Association of
Health Underwriters, and a past member of GenMark Business Advisors. He has
been both a keynote speaker and presenter on topics all centered around the
integration of advanced technology into the agency system, and the shift from
legacy systems that were less productive and profitable.
He attended Eastern Kentucky
University and played for the Colonels from 1974 to 1978.
He currently holds a series 7,
24, 63, and 65 licenses. He is a Charter
Financial Consultant, a Charter Life Underwriter, and an Investment Advisor
Representative.
Bob and Sally are active members
of Second Baptist Church and have two children, and one grandchild.
President, First Texas Alliance Corp
In 1972 Mr. Wheless started NFL
Career with the Detroit Lions and finished with the Houston Oilers in 1975. After retiring from the NFL he entered public accounting through 1979 and then serving as CFO to the oil and
gas industry.
In 1985 he entered the Financial Services Industry with The Equitable Life (AXA Financial). In 1995 he joined McNeil Friedman Financial as an advisor with a focus on Employee Benefits. In 2002 he joined First Texas Alliance as a partner and is a senior advisor and president of FTAC.
Mr. Wheless is a member of The American Institute of certified public accounts, and a past board member of Houston Country Club. He received a BBA from Rice University in 1971 and is a Certified Public Accountant. He holds a General Lines life and health license. He is married with 4 children and 4 grandchildren, and is a member of St. Martin’s Church.
Director of Sales, First Texas Alliance Corp.
Zack Hooper has steered the sales efforts of FTAC since joining in February 2020. Before joining the FTAC team, Zack worked in lead sales roles in various industries, including digital marketing, commercial roofing and the oil and gas industry.
Zack graduated from Texas A&M University in 2011 where he was a proud member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Corps of Cadets. Originally from Dallas, Zack now calls Houston home, where he enjoys life with his wife Emily and their son, Graham.
Captive Insurance Applications, Compensation Strategies Group
Mr. Fletcher completed his Bachelor of Science from The University of Texas at Austin in 1973. Upon graduation, he began his insurance
career with The Equitable Life Assurance Society of New York. At The Equitable, Mr. Fletcher soon became one of the company’s top five (5) managers from among 1,000 managers company wide, as rated by premium income, development and retention of a quality sales force. During his 12-year career with The Equitable, he held positions of increasing responsibility, including 2 Gold National Builders Trophies.
Upon leaving The Equitable, Mr. Fletcher was one of the founding principals of Compensation Strategies Group, Inc. (CSG), an employee
benefits and pension administration firm formed to design, implement and administer client-oriented solutions. CSG’s scope encompasses the full spectrum of benefit and insurance services, from implementing cost effective group
insurance programs to the design and funding of qualified retirement and non-qualified executive benefit plans.
In the mid 80’s, CSG was endorsed by the Independent Bankers Association of Texas to supply both the qualified and non-qualified employee benefits for its member banks. Along with these duties, CSG was charged with creating a separate insurance agency for the association to help create fee based income for its member banks through the sale of upscale concepts to the bank’s high net worth and commercial clients.
Mr. Fletcher, in his role with CSG, has been very active with the establishment of business continuation plans and estate planning strategies for business owners and key executives. Mr. Fletcher is well known in the insurance industry as a frequent speaker on tax-advantaged executive compensation and estate planning. Mr. Fletcher has been published numerous times in trade publications, including The Independent Banker Association of Texas News Magazine. Through his diligence in understanding complicated insurance applications, Mr. Fletcher has become recognized for his creativity and ability to identify corporate needs and create viable solutions. His combined management and sales skills are evidenced by his past qualification in the Top of the Table, which is represented by only 1⁄2 of 1% of all life insurance brokers in the United States.
Retirement Specialist, CPA, Compensation Strategies Group
Larry Turner is a CPA who specializes in designing, installing and administering tax qualified retirement plans. Larry’s extensive knowledge and experience serving business owners provides clients with creative options to meet their objectives along with
providing sound, reliable services to keep the plans in compliance and trouble free.
Larry’s company, Compensation Strategies Group, Ltd., is a retirement plan consulting and administration firm
located in the greater Houston/Southeast Texas area. Compensation Strategies Group has been successfully designing, installing and administering qualified plans for over 30 years.
Larry has helped employers large and small, with hundreds of employees down to one employee, chose the best plan
design to meet their objectives. His extensive experience in public accounting empowers him to explain to clients the income tax and benefit implications of the various plan features so they can adopt and maintain the plan that best meets their goals.
In addition to being a Certified Public Accountant, Larry is also a Certified Pension Consultant and a Qualified Pension Administrator, both professional designations of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA) of which he is a long-time member.
Larry lives in Beaumont, Texas with his best friend and wife. He is a John Piper Superfan as he pursues a passion to live for the glory of God Almighty.
Property & Casualty Insurance, J.S. Edwards & Sherlock
Logan became a third-generation risk consultant when he joined the family agency in 2015, continuing a family legacy since 1950. Over the past 9 years, he has been helping owners and executives of SMBs identify financial levers and risk mitigation strategies to improve their ROI on insurance spend.
Logan graduated from Louisiana State University in 2012 with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering – which brings a unique blend of technical acumen and strategic thinking to his role. He is a licensed property and casualty agent and holds the Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist (CLCS) designation.
He now lives in Houston, managing the agency’s Houston office.
Payroll Administration, Eagle Employer Services
Linwood was first exposed to the PEO industry in 1982 in Dallas when his father contracted with a PEO to take over the payroll and HR duties. Linwood founded Eagle Employer Services in 1999 and has been doing business with the same group of professionals since that time. As a result, he has developed relationships, experience, and stability that is transferable to clients in a way that few in the PEO industry can do.
His goal from inception was to provide a seamless service for payroll and HR to customers that surpass anything they could have in-house.
ESOP Applications, Business Transition Advisers, Inc.
Dan is Senior Vice President of the national consulting firm, Business Transition Advisors, Inc. (BTA) in the Central U.S division. BTA is a nationally recognized firm dedicated to assisting owners of closely held businesses with their business succession and liquidity planning with nationally recognized expertise in the education, design and implementation of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs).
Dan joined BTA with experiences spanning many financial service disciplines including investments, insurance, financial planning, executive benefits and numerous ESOP related specialties at MetLife Group’s Institutional division. as well as other major financial companies and has risen to a nationally recognized thought leader, speaker and author throughout the country. Dan has also authored and featured in numerous national financial publications including the Journal of Financial Service Professionals, Wealth Counsel Magazine, TD Ameritrade’s Institutional Advisor Solutions and Employee Benefit Advisor magazines.
Dan holds a B.A. from Grove City College and has earned the Accredited Estate Planner and Chartered Financial Consultant designations from The American College and is Past President of the Society of Financial Service Professionals-Pittsburgh, Past-Chair of the Pittsburgh Business Ethics Awards. Dan is a member of National Association of Estate Planning Councils, The ESOP Association, The National Center for Employee Ownership and Founding Member of the Pennsylvania Center for Employee Ownership.
Founder & President, Ironwood Consulting Agency
Kevin Reynolds is experienced in operations, finance, strategic marketing, business expansion, DOL, OSHA, and DOT regulatory
compliance. After graduating from The University of Texas’ Red McCombs School of Business, he founded and ran his own business for 15 years. For the following 15 years, Kevin has been advising clients around the country in DOL, DOT, and
OSHA regulatory compliance and crisis management.
Ironwood Business Consulting is a one-source risk management consulting firm, founded with the belief that the heart of a company is the employees and community. By empowering and supporting employees to make the right decisions for clients, vendors and the community, both Ironwood and Ironwood’s clients prosper.
Call us today for your appointment at no obligation, and see why others have made the switch to FTAC!
