Christoph Koster

Biography

Chris has been building financial services and investment platforms for banks, governments and technology companies for 20 years. He is currently serving as the CEO of ruya, the UAE’s digital bank which he founded and scaled. Under his leadership, ruya is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of digital finance bringing crypto investments to its platform in a world-first and building the infrastructure that connects TradFi and DeFi. In 2025, under Chris’s leadership, ruya delivered 68% revenue growth and 250% customer deposit growth, crossed 500,000 downloads while tripling its customer base to over 125,000, and achieved a customer satisfaction score (“NPS”) of 54, among the highest across retail banks in the UAE. The bank launched the world’s first Shari’ah-compliant Bitcoin investment offering, entered into signature partnerships for “Banking as a Service” bridging DeFi and TradFi, was certified as a “Great Place to Work” with a 92-point score ranking it among the Top 5 Financial Services across the GCC, and won numerous industry awards including Best Islamic Digital Bank from Global Finance Magazine. Before his role at ruya, Chris served as the COO at a G42 AI development joint venture, where he was responsible for building the business unit from its incubation phase. He also led the group’s asset management and developed its proprietary investment programme. Prior to G42, Chris was a key member of the executive management team at the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO). His leadership and strategic vision were vital in positioning Abu Dhabi as a significant player on the global investment stage. At Emirates NBD, Chris managed teams across Private Banking, Asset Management and Retail Banking. His tenure saw Emirates NBD's Private Banking business rise to prominence as the leading wealth management franchise in the region. Chris's career began at Roland Berger’s restructuring and turnaround practice as well as the corporate development and M&A team at a major renewable energy conglomerate.