J. Powell Brown, president and chief executive officer of Brown & Brown Inc., has taken a temporary leave of absence for health reasons. The leave began Jan. 29, 2012. During Powell Brown's absence, J. Hyatt Brown will assume the president and CEO's duties and responsibilities. J. Hyatt Brown is chairman of the company's board of directors and previously was CEO until his retirement from that position in 2009. He also is the father of Powell Brown. Powell Brown, who was 43 years old when the company filed its proxy statement last spring, was named president in 2007 and chief executive in 2009. He previously was a regional executive vice president and served as a profit center lead for the company's Orlando retail office.