Stay humble, stay hungry, and never stop running! 

These are the principles that drive my professional life.

Looking back on my journey, there’s a clear pattern—exploring ideas, developing solutions, and bringing them to life. It all started in high school in the 1980s when I founded our first student environmental club, focused on separating garbage before it was even a thing. Then came running a sandwich, candy, and pizza shop, followed by organizing school-wide ski days.

At university, I helped organize student representation and later co-founded the alumni association. From there, I found myself naturally drawn to banking, which took me to places like Poland, the Czech Republic, Mexico, Spain, and the U.S. early in my career. Along the way, I discovered my passion for Risk Management—not as a roadblock, but as a way to truly understand opportunities and the motivations behind transactions. I wanted to shift the perspective from a risk-averse, reluctant “nay-sayer” to a deeper, more strategic approach. My traditional banking career ended when my boss told me I was spending too much time analyzing data—so, naturally, I took that as a sign to chart my own course.

That’s when I fully embraced Impact Investing and the world of developing markets, a fascination sparked already in the 1990s by reading The Investor’s Guide to Emerging Markets by Mark Mobius. Exploring different cultures, perspectives, and the ways environments shape financial behavior has deeply influenced my approach to risk. More than anything, I love being a foreigner, immersing myself in new places, and learning how people think, live, and do business.

Merging my career experience with my passion for technology and efficiency, I founded Q-Lana—a company that brings technology, risk management, and human interaction together to empower financial institutions. I firmly believe that knowledge and relationships are the most valuable assets in banking. When combined with creative analysis, they transform banks into true financial partners, fostering sustainable growth and impact.

Giving back has always been a guiding principle in my life. In 2004, I co-founded Proyecto Horizonte, a project that has grown into an incredible organization supporting 3,000 children and their families in Bolivia every year. The experience has been humbling, shaping my understanding of social impact and reinforcing why I do what I do.

Along the way, I’ve collected stories from my travels and reflections on life—some insightful, some random. And so, this blog exists.

To borrow a line from Steven Bartlett (The Diary of a CEO): Without further ado, this is my blog. I hope nobody reads it, but if you are… well, let’s just keep it between us.

Christian Ruehmer