Greg Becker
American banking executive (born 1966/7)
Gregory W. Becker (born 1966 or 1967) is an American business executive who was the chief executive officer of SVB Financial Group and its chief banking subsidiary Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) from 2011 to 2023. He also was a board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco before SVB's collapse in 2023.2
From Wikipedia’s article on Greg Becker (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Born 1967.1
Companies
- SVB Financial GroupChief executive officer Apr 21, 2011 to now16
- SVB Financial GroupChief executive officer 2011 to now17
- Silicon Valley BankChief executive officer Apr 21, 2011 to Mar 10, 202318
- Silicon Valley BankChief executive officer 2011 to Mar 10, 202318
- SVB Financial GroupPresident May 1, 2008 to Mar 1, 202319
- SVB Financial GroupBoard member Apr 26, 2011 to Apr 29, 201120
- SVB Financial GroupChair 2010 to Apr 21, 201116
- Silicon Valley BankChair 2008 to Apr 21, 201118
- SVB Financial GroupChief Opperating Officer,CB Feb 16, 2006 to Feb 14, 201121
Early life and education
Becker grew up on his family's 300-acre (120 ha) farm in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His father ran a business supply company. He received a bachelor's degree in finance from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.
From Wikipedia’s article on Greg Becker (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Career
Occupation: loan officer, business executive.11
- Until 2023Board of directors member, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco9
- 2014 to 2017Chairperson, Silicon Valley Leadership Group7 9
- Since 2011Chief executive officer, SVB Financial Group5 8
- 2011 to 2023Chief executive officer, Silicon Valley Bank5 8
- 2011 to 2023Board of directors member, Silicon Valley Leadership Group9 10
- 2010 to 2011Chairperson, SVB Financial Group5 8
- 2008 to 2011Chairperson, Silicon Valley Bank5 8
- Until 1993Worked at Comerica5 6
- 1993 to 2008Loan officer, Silicon Valley Bank5 7
Becker's first job out of college was at a Comerica branch in Detroit. Initially, the bank's records erroneously showed that he held a Master of Business Administration; he corrected the error, but it opened up opportunities for him. His manager offered him an opportunity to spend nine months working in the bank's branch in Pleasanton, California. Drawn by the weather, he stayed and worked at a small bank that Comerica had acquired in San Jose.
In 1993, Becker followed his manager to Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). One of his first deals as a loan officer there was to lend $350,000 to a company that would get acquired by Cisco for $100 million. In 1996, he opened the bank's branch in Boulder, Colorado.
In 1999, he returned to Silicon Valley to found SVB Capital, the group's venture capital fund management division. He rose through the ranks to become the bank's chief banking officer, chief operating officer, and, in 2008, its president. He was promoted to president of parent company SVB Financial Group in 2010, then became the chief executive officer of both companies on April 21, 2011.
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Silicon Valley Bank failure
On February 27, 2023, Becker sold 12,451 shares of company stock, worth a total of $3.6 million. The sale was made through an executive trading plan filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on January 26, 2023. Following news of SVB's dire financial circumstances on March 9, 2023, Becker urged venture capitalist firms to avoid panic in order to stave off a collapse.
Following news of SVB's failure on March 10, 2023, Becker was reportedly no longer on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. In the aftermath of SVB's collapse, Becker received criticism from Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Ro Khanna of California, and Mayor Matt Mahan of San Jose, who called for money from the stock sale to be clawed back and given to depositors. Reports and photos show that immediately after the SVB collapse, Becker flew first class to his $3.1 million cottage in Hawaii, leaving his colleagues to deal with the failure. Becker stated during his Senate testimony that, "We decided we were going to go to one of two places to be with family. Either we would be with my family in Indiana or her family in Hawaii."
Following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Becker remained a board member and the CEO of Silicon Valley Financial Group, the former parent of Silicon Valley Bank, until April 19, 2023, when he resigned both roles.
From Wikipedia’s article on Greg Becker (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Personal life
Becker is a competitive cyclist. In 2010, he raised $500,000 for Best Buddies on a 100-mile (160 km) ride in California.
In 2025 the San Francisco Standard reported the US Federal Government had filed a lawsuit against Silicon Valley Bank leaders over what it refers to as "gross negligence."
From Wikipedia’s article on Greg Becker (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.
Links
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
- 1WikidataGreg Becker on Wikidata
- 2WikipediaGreg Becker on Wikipedia
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- 4Wikidataeducation, as reported
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- 6WikidataWorked at Comerica, as reported
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- 14Wikidataresidence, as reported
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- 17Wikidata and SEC EDGARSVB Financial Group, Chief executive officer
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- 19SEC EDGARSVB Financial Group, President
- 20SEC EDGARSVB Financial Group, Board member
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