Raeto Raffainer was born on 1 January 1982 in Wolhusen, Switzerland. He played junior hockey in St. Moritz and Davos before moving to professional hockey where he played for the ZSC Lions Zurich, SC Bern, the SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, HC Ambri-Piotta and the GCK Lions Zurich.

Towards the end of his player career he started coaching in youth hockey with his clubs and the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. He was the Director National Teams at the SIHF (2015-2019) and worked as GM of various national teams in 23 World Championships and the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. He later worked in club hockey as Head of Sports of HC Davos (2019-2021) and Chief Sports Officer of SC Bern (since 2021).

Raffainer has been a member of the IIHF Coaching Committee (since 2015) and of the Swiss National Team Committee (since 2015).

He speaks German, Romansh, English, Italian and French, is married and has two daughters.