Eugene Starks is a Principal with Acuity Group, LLC, a full-service employee benefits TPA, consulting and brokerage firm. Eugene merged his independent employee benefits brokerage company, Starks & Company, Inc., with BAS in 2007. In 2014 Eugene and his partners launched the Acuity Group, to integrate innovative health plan management strategies with a full array of employee benefits consulting and HR services. Prior to starting his own company, Eugene worked as the Director of Client Services with Advantage Health Plan; a New Orleans, Louisiana based managed healthcare organization.
Eugene served as National President of the Board of Trustees for the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP) during the 2021-2022 association year. NABIP is the preeminent association of employee benefits specialists in the U.S. Eugene was elected Secretary of NABIP in 2017 and progressed through the executive leadership roles until becoming President. Prior to joining the NABIP Executive Board, Eugene served on the NABIP Political Action Committee, becoming Chairman of the PAC during the 2016 presidential election cycle. Eugene also served as President of the Mississippi Association of Health Underwriters and as President of Jackson Association of Health Underwriters. In 2010, he received the coveted NABIP-Jackson, McNair-Mobley award for outstanding leadership.
Eugene, the son of a carpenter and is one of eight children. He grew up in Biloxi, MS where he worked in his family’s construction business throughout high school and college. Eugene worked on construction projects, helping bring them out of the ground to fully completed structures. Eugene learned well the principal that a building cannot stand without a solid foundation. He has spent his career helping to build solid foundations for healthcare financing and healthcare delivery. He continues in this effort through his role as a Principal with Acuity Group and continuing his work to reimagine the health plan designs and health care delivery systems.
Eugene earned his B.S. Degree in Political Science from the University of Southern Mississippi; and is a graduate of the United States Chamber of Commerce Institute of Organization Management. Eugene has been married for over 37 years to his amazing wife, Lori Graham Starks, and has two incredible daughters, Maggie Starks Oliver and Darby Starks.