Meet CEO & Founder of Alta Benefits
Phil Gruber
"Giving back to the communities we serve is a big strand of our company's DNA."
Raleigh native & proud graduate of Broughton High School & UNC Chapel Hill, Phil began his insurance career in 1994 at Northwestern Mutual. In 1996, Phil joined a large privately held brokerage, Asura, where his early success led the partners to quickly promote him to Vice President & leader of the rapidly growing Employee Benefits division. When Asura was acquired in 2000, Phil had the vision to start RPG Solutions. For the next 16 years, RPG grew organically through a strong focus on service, client advocacy, relationships, hiring & retaining the best employees, and giving back to the community. 100% of RPG’s growth was based on referrals.
In 2016, RPG Solutions was acquired by HUB International. For the three years that Phil was a divisional CEO, the RPG Division lead the Carolinas Region in new business and retention. In June 2019, Phil left HUB & took two years off. With most of his former competitors being acquired in an industry-wide consolidation, Phil saw an opportunity for a strong independent brokerage and started Alta Benefits in June 2021.
25+ years
of Employee Benefits & Insurance Experience
16+ years
at RPG Solutions developing cost-effective benefits programs and insurance plans
200+
Companies
Served
20+ years
of community leadership
Phil commits much of his time to many nonprofits in the Triangle area. In 2017, Phil was honored to be awarded the first Corporate Philanthropy Award by the Triangle Business Journal. As a co-founder of Band Together NC, Phil has served on the Board of Directors as well as its advisory board; contributing to the impact of raising over $10 million for local charities since its inception. Phil has served on the board for Special Olympics NC for 18 years, most recently at Board Chair. Following RPG Solutions’ tradition of giving back Alta Benefits will support numerous Triangle philanthropies and increase it’s commitment as Alta grows.
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Phil has studied extensively with Bell Leadership Institute and Grinnell Leadership in order to continually improve and better lead Alta Benefit's strategic direction.
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Phil enjoys time with his wife, Shellie, son Max and daughter Sierra and their 3 dogs.