Canada's Top Employers for Young People (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 20
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CANADA’S TOP EMPLOYERS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE (2025)
AIG is committed to every phase of a person’s career
A
lexandra Biss didn’t
expect to join the
insurance business
after graduating with
an arts degree from
the University of Toronto. But two
years after joining AIG Insurance
Company of Canada (AIG
Canada), she received a promotion
and is on a well-defined career
path.
Biss joined AIG, one of the country’s leading property and casualty
insurance companies, as a junior
underwriting analyst in 2022 and
last fall became an underwriter.
She’s now working to obtain her
chartered insurance professional
(CIP) designation and has applied
for AIG’s emerging leaders underwriting excellence program. Each
year, 12 employees are chosen to
take part in the one-year training
and mentorship program.
Showing people that we
are committed to every
stage of their career is
key and really resonates
with younger people.
— Pete Walker
President and CEO
“While I didn’t study business
or finance, I knew this would be
a company that would help me
grow beyond what I thought I was
capable of, and every day AIG
does this. Every day, I am learning
something new,” she says.
Having grown up in London,
England, Biss wanted to join
a company with an international reach. Headquartered in
downtown Toronto with offices
Employees at AIG Canada come together to plant 340 trees.
in Vancouver and Montréal,
AIG Canada is part of American
International Group, Inc. a
global insurance company with
operations in 190 countries and
jurisdictions.
“I knew I wanted to be part of a
multinational organization so that
one day I would have the freedom
to work in London and also to
interact with a big team,” she says.
While she may work for a large
company, Biss is far from lost in
the crowd. From the start, she was
partnered with a mentor and, two
years later, still checks in with
her on a weekly basis. “She is
my go-to,” Biss says. “She pushes
me out of my comfort zone and
challenges me.”
It’s that type of continuous support and learning that president
and CEO Pete Walker tries to
provide to all of AIG’s younger
employees in Canada. When they
arrive at the company, they learn
early on about the career paths
available to them.
“Showing people that we are
committed to every stage of their
career is key and really resonates
with younger people,” Walker
says. “We tell them ‘We’re going
to bring you in and continue to
nurture you and help you grow
throughout your career.’”
AIG offers several structured
programs, including co-ops
and internships. The 10-week
internship program is open
to students from a variety of
educational backgrounds,
including finance and
engineering. These programs
often result in recent graduates
being offered a spot in the
company’s two-year professional
analyst program. “They are getting
on-the-ground experience as
well as mentorship and other
development program training,”
says Walker.
Outside of the learning and
development opportunities AIG
offers, Biss thrives on its culture of
engagement and its commitment
to giving back to the community.
