Carras Honored in 2021 Elite Women List
By Alliant
Eleni Carras is a conscientious employee benefits consultant and dedicated mentor who strives to drive exceptional results for her clients and colleagues. As Vice President and Benefits Consultant Lead, Eleni provides strategic thinking and tactical planning tools to clients representing a broad range of industries. She listens intently to her clients while being mindful of their goals, finances, and culture. Her most frequent question is: “What’s the problem you’re trying to solve, and how do you know it is?”
Eleni’s goal is to derive quantifiable and meaningful outcomes through well-crafted designs that enhance her clients’ benefits programs. For example, she recently negotiated more than $5 million in fixed cost savings on a $50 million plan without changing features, structures, employee contributions, or services offered.
Eleni has achieved measurable success within her first five years at Alliant, winning awards for Innovation in 2020, Leadership in 2016 and 2018, and Employee of the Year in 2017. She represents Alliant’s Pacific Northwest office in a national panel of 25 peers, questioning existing notions of best client service practices. In the midst of a challenging year, she kept a positive mindset and quickly helped clients pivot their strategies in order to boost value to their employees and families.
In addition to stewarding her clients, Eleni champions all voices, constantly promoting a culture of inclusivity at Alliant. Eleni believes her success is a byproduct of the team’s potency; she makes time for anyone who needs help solving a problem or working through a challenge. As she reminds colleagues to show grace and compassion to each other, she readily helps women identify and remove obstacles to career growth so they can thrive. As a result, she has made a profound contribution to the career growth of members on her team and has served as a shining example of the spirit of mentorship at Alliant.
Eleni is also active in her community, serving on the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Board of Ambassadors and as a member of its Innovators Network. Prior to that, she served on Seattle CityClub’s Board of Directors for 10 years and volunteered at her local church, hosting its charity auction for nearly a decade.
