Andreas Russenberger, 58, once led global wealth management at a major Swiss bank. Today he writes crime fiction full time — and has never looked back.
Russenberger studied history and political science at the University of Zurich and completed further education at St. Gallen and Stanford. He spent many years heading the global wealth management division of a large Swiss bank before making a career change that placed him firmly in the literary world.
He is now a published author whose books have been nominated for literary prizes and regularly appear on bestseller lists. In September, his eighth novel, "Zürich City," was released. He is currently working on his ninth and plans a longer writing residency abroad.
"Writing has an unpleasant quality: hardly has a book appeared when the next one begins clamoring in your head," Russenberger said.
As president of the Verband Autorinnen und Autoren der Schweiz (Swiss Authors Association), Russenberger also brings a professional perspective to the craft. He notes that the public perception of his work is far from accurate.
"The page is still blank in the evening if you haven't written anything," he said. "Writing consists to a surprisingly large extent of tricks, rejections and doubts, and to a surprisingly small extent of champagne and book launch parties."
His driving force, he says, is curiosity and a thirst for knowledge — both in life and in his books, though he adds that in his novels he can at least occasionally influence what lies around the next corner.
Russenberger is a dedicated Ironman competitor with 20 finish medals, and he describes himself as remarkably fearless personally — except when it comes to others. "If something shouldn't succeed, it would merely be a disappointment — in other words, the end of a deception," he said.
His best investment, he reflects, has been time deliberately allocated to family, career, continuing education and himself. "Time invested consciously has always yielded the best returns."
He lives in Arosa, Switzerland.
