RPS Benefits by Design Sells to Utah-based Insurance Brokerage

Overland Park-based RPS Benefits by Design has been acquired by Leavitt Group and will rebrand to Leavitt Strategic Benefits. Photo credit: Shutterstock (PeopleImages).

Posted June 8, 2026

Overland Park-based employee benefits agency RPS Benefits by Design, Inc., has been sold to the Leavitt Group.

RPS Benefits by Design will rebrand to Leavitt Strategic Benefits. As part of this partnership between the Leavitt Group and Maria Ahlers, who has been the president of the Ovland Park agency since 2025, Ahlers will lead Leavitt Strategic Benefits as president.

“This partnership allows us to continue building on what we’ve created while bringing additional resources and support to our clients,” Ahlers said in a release.

Ahlers first joined the company in 2022. She was later promoted to COO in January 2024 and to president in February 2025.

RPS Benefits by Design was previously led by Philip Sarnecki, who acquired the agency in 2018, and announced he would begin his campaign to run as a Republican for governor of Kansas. In September. Sarnecki stepped down from his leadership role in the company in February.

“Maria and her predecessor, Phillip Sarnecki, have built a strong agency, and we’re excited to partner with them moving forward,” Kevin Callister, Leavitt Group’s chief affiliations officer, said in the release. “Expanding into Kansas is an important milestone and supports our continued growth across the country.”

Founded in 1952 and headquartered in Cedar City, Utah, the Leavitt Group is one of the largest privately held U.S. insurance brokerages. The company has a network of more than 80 agencies and over 290 locations across 30 states—with the addition of this acquisition.