Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a United States-based commercial bank that helps fund tech startups, has appointed Paul Parisias its new head of Canada.
“Paul is the ideal leader to help us build on our strong momentum in the [Canadian] market.”
– David Sabow
Formerly the president of PayPal Canada, Parisi will lead strategic oversight for all of Silicon Valley Bank’s activities in Canada, including operations, business development, and corporate governance. Parisi takes over the role nearly one year after Barbara Dirks stepped down. While a search for her replacement took place, Dirks’ responsibilities were handled by John China, president of SVB Capital.
“Silicon Valley Bank is a trusted partner to innovative companies because it understands its clients’ needs at all life stages and through the ups and downs of building a business,” said Parisi. “I am proud to join the Toronto-based team. Silicon Valley Bank is like no other bank, and I’m looking forward to jumping in and continuing to uphold its mission of increasing its clients’ probability of success.”
SVB secured its lending licence from the Superintendent of Financial Institutions in Canada in February 2019 and opened Canadian headquarters in Toronto soon after. Some of the commercial bank’s clients in Canada include Shopify, Radical Ventures, ResQ, and Koho. The bank currently has $72.4 billion USD in total assets.
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At PayPal Canada, Parisi was responsible for the risk, regulatory, operations, sales, and go-to-market functions across the business. Prior to PayPal, he was vice president and general manager of global commercial payments at American Express Canada.
In March, SVB launched a relief initiative to tech startups affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new offerings consist of loans of $10 million USD or less, and an opportunity for venture debt borrowers to defer their principal payments for a period of six months.
“Silicon Valley Bank is committed to supporting the growth of the Canadian innovation ecosystem and Paul is the ideal leader to help us build on our strong momentum in the market,” said David Sabow, head of technology and healthcare banking in North America.
“Paul brings more than two decades of financial services experience and direct experience in the technology sector. He will be a valuable partner to our Canadian clients and an experienced leader for our growing Canada team.”
Image source PayPal.