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Discreetly but doggedly, Lukas Ruflin has worked his way up to the heart of Leonteq. finews.asia profiles the influential banker who has stayed out of view until now.

In Leonteq's ten-year history, co-founder and until very recently Chief Executive Jan Schoch has been the figurehead for the derivatives firm. Another co-founder has largely remained behind the scenes: Lukas Ruflin. Formerly a close associate of Schoch's, it is Ruflin who ultimately tipped the scales and led to his ouster as CEO.

At just 42, Ruflin is already a Swiss banking industry veteran. With nearly 10 percent of Leonteq, he has advanced to one of the firm's biggest shareholders and unlike fellow heavyweight Rainer-Marc Frey, Ruflin knows the firm inside out. His involvement however has largely been as a board overseer, leaving him unscathed from the management wipeout following Leonteq's fall to earth last year.

African Roots 

Ruflin is officially the deputy to incoming chairman Christopher Chambers, a former Credit Suisse investment banker with high-profile U.K. credentials. Who is the inconspicuous Swiss native who is set to win big if Leonteq manages to return to sustainable growth?

He is considered somewhat exotic in banking circles for several reasons: he didn't start off at either UBS or Credit Suisse, which is often the springboard for a banking career elsewhere. He was born in Lesotho as the son of a physician; Ruflin's middle name is Thabo, a common African name for either gender which means «happiness» or «joy». Ruflin also spent part of his childhood in Cameroon, where his parents ran a hospital and Ruflin earned the nickname «Le Blanc».

Swiss banking has ruminated at length what type of banker is best equipped for the post-secrecy era: Julius Baer boss Boris Collardi and Vontobel Chief Executive Zeno Staub are generally accepted as examples of bankers who made their careers. But it is Ruflin who perfectly exemplifies the new breed of Swiss banker: well-educated, discreet, hard-working and well-connected.

Impeccable Credentials

Back in Europe, Ruflin graduated with a double Masters degree from the highly-regarded University of St. Gallen. One of his first stops? An internship at PricewaterhouseCoopers – in Moscow, where he became fluent in Russian.

Ruflin didn't join a Swiss firm until 2004, when he was hired by EFG International as finance chief one year before the Swiss private bank's initial public offering. Instead, he toiled investment banker hours for U.S. firms J.P. Morgan and Lehman Brothers.