Employee Spotlight: Christian Toouli, Engineering Manager

We're continuing our series highlighting the incredible people behind Banyan Infrastructure, and we couldn't be more excited to introduce our next spotlight: Christian! As a seasoned engineer and now a manager, Christian has been instrumental in shaping our product and fostering the growth of our engineering team. Join us as we learn more about his journey, his passion for impact, and what he enjoys doing when he's not busy building the future of project finance.

Please share your background and what led you to Banyan Infrastructure?

I went to the University of California, San Diego, where I studied Economics and minored in computer science. While studying there, I interned in Manhattan at American Express, working on their blockchain team and scaling their solutions to handle higher throughput. In my last year at UCSD, I worked at the San Diego Supercomputer Center, where I conducted research on AI applications within a blockchain network. It culminated in the release of this paper.

After college, I continued working on various small projects until I came across Banyan Infrastructure in March 2021.

Why did you choose to work at Banyan Infrastructure?

When I interviewed with Banyan, I had the opportunity to meet nearly every person on the team, as it was a small 6-person startup at the time, and I greatly enjoyed my conversations with everyone. Coming out of college, I was eager to join a place where I could personally grow and learn a great deal from the people around me. I was also excited to be able to utilize my economics degree instead of it going to waste completely.

What do you hope to accomplish at Banyan Infrastructure?

I am excited to continue building a product that brings real impact to the world. I joined Banyan Infrastructure in the hopes of making a significant contribution to changing how the project finance industry operates.

Now that I have transitioned into a management role, one of my goals is to help the engineering team continue to grow and evolve alongside the company. When I joined Banyan Infrastructure, I had great mentors, so I hope to be that for the new engineers who join the company.

What do you like to do in your free time?

In my free time, I enjoy doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at a place just down the street from the office. I also enjoy trying out the many different bakeries around the city; my top two right now are Pineapple King in the Sunset and Arisicault. They recently opened one near the office, which is neither a good nor a bad thing for me. I also greatly enjoy traveling! Some of my favorite recent destinations include Iceland (in the winter), Japan, and Kauai.