- Bank of America investment banker Ralf Etienne, a 36-year-old Haitian amputee, is trying to become Haiti’s first Winter Paralympian in three-track skiing at the 2026 Games in Italy.
- After losing his leg in the 2010 Haiti earthquake, he rebuilt his life in the U.S., completed college and an MBA, and joined BofA’s private-equity banking group in 2022.
- U.S. immigration policy changes led BofA to move him from New York to London, where he balances a demanding banking career with weekend training in the Alps and Switzerland.
- Haiti has officially nominated him, but he faces a tight window to meet Paralympic qualification standards by racing in Europe while managing funding, logistics, and long-term career sustainability.
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Etienne’s story combines personal resilience with professional ambition—and exposes the frictions between global mobility, elite sport, and corporate life. His journey illustrates how non-traditional athletes must navigate non-sporting systems (immigration, visas, employer policies) to compete internationally. For BoA, supporting him isn’t just philanthropy or inclusion; it reflects commitment to diversity and human stories that reinforce corporate narrative.
Strategically, several implications arise: First, sponsorship and corporate support—like BoA relocating an employee—can foster visibility and potentially open opportunities in branding, PR, and CSR, though also requiring careful risk management. Second, athletes from countries with limited winter sports infrastructure (like Haiti) need international training bases and support—Etienne is using Switzerland and U.S. mountains to build competence and meet classification criteria. Third, qualifying for Winter Paralympics standards (for his class, competing on one leg) is intensely demanding and logistically complex: travel, events, adaptive equipment, coaching, and time are all constraints.
Open questions remain. What are the precise qualification criteria for the “three-track skiing event” Etienne aims for, and how many races he must complete in Europe? How sustainable is this dual career over time—burnout and injury risk are real? What are the financial costs, sponsorship possibilities, and whether Haiti’s Olympic committee has infrastructure to support him before, during, and after the Games? And on the immigration front: how stable is his status now, and how might future U.S. or UK policy changes affect him?
Supporting Notes
- Etienne, age 36, works for Bank of America in London; trains with the Swiss Paralympic ski team on weekends. [1]
- He lost his leg in the 2010 Port-au-Prince earthquake; both legs were crushed, he was rescued after eight hours. [1]
- He relocated to London in 2025 after immigration policy changes in the U.S. threatened his visa status; BoA facilitated the move. [1]
- He is aiming to qualify in three-track races (for competitors on one leg) for the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Italy; Haiti has officially nominated him. [1]
- He completed his first competitive race in April 2025 in Winter Park, Colorado, making him eligible; plans to compete in about ten more races in Europe. [1]
- He holds degrees: undergraduate studies at Bergen Community College and Anderson University; MBA from University of North Carolina; joined BoA private-equity group in New York in 2022, then moved to London. [1]
Sources
- [1] www.wsj.com (The Wall Street Journal) — December 26, 2025