Synopsis The executive cut his teeth during the dotcom bubble and later steered the startup-focused lender in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. He became president and CEO of SVB Financial Group in 2011. Reuters Greg Becker , the chief executive officer who presided over the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank , joined the company three decades ago as a loan officer. The executive cut his teeth during the dotcom bubble and later steered the startup-focused lender in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. He became president and CEO of SVB Financial Group in 2011. The company's operations abruptly came to a halt on Friday as California banking regulators moved quickly to shut it down in what became the largest bank failure since the financial crisis. Just 24 hours earlier, Becker had personally called clients to assure them their money with the bank was safe. Becker , who served on the board of directors at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco , departed the board effective Friday, a spokesperson for the regional Fed bank said. In January, Becker said the economic outlook was improving after a downbeat 2022. "We're optimistic because our crystal ball is a little clearer," Becker told CNBC. While he expected public markets to stabilize, "We still think in the first half there is going to be more volatility. " Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Becker graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor's degree in business, according to Silicon Valley Bank's website. From there, he worked at a bank that served what he called "traditional companies. " When his manager left to work for Silicon Valley Bank, Becker followed, he said in 2021 on a Bloomberg podcast. Representatives for Silicon Valley Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The banker described his first few years at SVB as "the highest of highs and the lowest of lows" as the lender navigated the tech rout in the late 1990s. "We took losses. It was a challenging time for us. . . I look back on it fondly. I learned a lot about the institution. I learned a lot about how to lend money," he said. Before becoming president and CEO of SVB Financial Group, Becker co-founded SVB Capital , the company's investment arm. He also served as the chairman of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group from 2014 to 2017 and was a member of the U. S. Commerce Department's Digital Economy Board of Advisors from 2016 to 2017. Becker cycles in his free time and has five grown children. Silicon Valley Bank's website calls Becker a "champion of the innovation economy. " In a video for the BBC in December, Becker said his best career advice was for job seekers to build a skill-set around the innovation economy in fields like computer programming and project management. "When you think about your opportunity, if you are underrepresented with those skills, it truly is endless," he said. Don’t miss out on ET Prime stories! Get your daily dose of business updates on WhatsApp. click here! Saturday, 11 Mar, 2023 Experience Your Economic Times Newspaper, The Digital Way! Read Complete Print Edition » Front Page Pure Politics Economy Brands & Companies More Jan Industrial Output up 5. 2% on Mfg Boost Industrial production rose 5. 2% in January, picking up pace from 4. 7% in the preceding month, as better-than-expected manufacturing provided a boost. Jittery D-Street Indices Slide 1% India’s equity indices slid over 1% on Friday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street after the crisis in Silicon Valley Bank, an American lender that services startups, raised concerns over the health of the US financial system. US Govt Shuts SVB; FDIC named Receiver As news came in on Friday evening of the US government taking over Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), it rattled Indian investors and founders running SaaS companies with accounts at the lender. Read More News on becker silicon valley bank svb financial group svb capital svb silicon valley leadership group federal reserve bank of san francisco Greg Becker Stay on top of technology and startup news that matters. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest and must-read tech news, delivered straight to your inbox. . . . more less ETPrime stories of the day Investing No new sector has emerged; overweight on capital goods, industrials: Devina Mehra of First Global 16 mins read Jobs Inside Flipkart’s downsizing drive: layoffs, meagre pay hikes, more PIPs 7 mins read Under the lens Pump and dump: How two YouTube videos wiped off crores from the pockets of thousands of investors 15 mins read Subscribe to ETPrime.