This week, we speak with Greg Becker, who is the chief executive officer of Silicon Valley Bank — the only bank dedicated to the global innovation sector — and CEO of SVB Financial Group. Becker joined SVB in 1993 and has served as CEO since 2011; he previously held various senior positions including co-founder and managing director of SVB Capital, chief banking officer, and president of Silicon Valley Bank.
He explains how SVB brings nearly 10,000 companies in who are just getting started. They tailor their products to them from venture financing, lending, and banking services. Clients of SVB startup-banking make up 50% of venture-backed tech and life science companies in the US; 69% of U.S. VC-backed tech + life science companies with an IPO banked with SVB in 2019.
The firm has been active in the FinTech area, with both clients and deploying tech on their platform. It helps them as an institution to press ahead and be bold. SDVB is now global, operating in Asia, the UK, and Europe, China, and elsewhere around the world.
A list of his favorite books is here; A transcript of our conversation is available here Monday.
You can stream and download our full conversation, including the podcast extras on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Google, Bloomberg, and Acast. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite pod hosts can be found here.
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business next week with Fran Kinniry, who is a principal in the Vanguard Investment Strategy Group, and became Global Head of Private Investments at investing giant Vanguard Group in 2019.
Greg Becker’s Favorite Books
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
The Pacific War: 1941-1945 by John Costello
2034: A Novel of the Next World War by Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis
