Ask any employer and they will tell you that group benefits is not only becoming more complex but more costly and what should stay and what should go is an annual conundrum that most would rather do without.

Enter Aneesa Toor, a senior employee benefits consultant with The Leslie Group Limited in Toronto.

With 11 years of experience, Toor is seen as an expert in non-traditional benefit plan design helping companies meet both their benefit needs and manage costs.

Having worked previously with a major insurance company, Toor has made a name for herself as a tough but fair negotiator on behalf of her company clients. In turn, this has given these firms a reputation as progressive leaders in the benefits and HR space.

Toor is the first to admit that insurance and benefits are not exactly what most people would categorize as “sexy.”

“But for me, I find my work to be very interesting and meaningful. I look at the insurance industry as a whole as a community of people coming together to take care of each other and sharing risk. I don’t think a lot of people look at insurance that way. They look at it as a very cold industry, but I look at it in a much nicer way – taking care of people.

“What inspires me is making sure that my clients – the employers – have benefits in place to take care of their people when they need it. I think that’s very meaningful work and I find it inspirational.”

Read our special report — The Rising Stars of the insurance and investment industries »