Ken Wilcox

Advisory Board

Ken Wilcox currently serves as the Chairman Emeritus of Silicon Valley Bank. Silicon Valley Bank is the bank of account for well over half of all the venture capital-backed technology companies in the U.S. as well as over half of all the venture capital firms in the U.S.During his tenure as CEO (2001-2011), Mr. Wilcox:

  • Transformed the bank’s portfolio from one-third technology companies and venture capital firms to 99% technology companies and venture capital firms
  • Expanded the Bank’s product set from one that addressed only startups to one that addressed all technology companies regardless of size
  • Extended the Bank’s reach from purely domestic to global, to include China, India, Israel, and the UK
  • Served seven years on the Board of the San Francisco branch of the Federal Reserve.

In 2011 Mr. Wilcox passed the baton to his successor Greg Becker, became Chairman of the Board and moved to China to co-found a 50/50 joint-venture bank with the Chinese government in Shanghai devoted exclusively to working with technology companies in China.

Mr. Wilcox is a member of the Board of the Asia Society of Northern California, the Asian Art Museum, the Equilibrium Capital Group, and Columbia Lake Venture Debt Fund. He is also an adjunct professor and member of International Advisory Board at Fudan University in Shanghai and an advisor to a number of startups.

In 2008, Mr. Wilcox was named “Banker of the Year” by American Banker.  He earned the distinction of “Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young in 2009 and in 2010. In 2013, the Shanghai Municipal Government presented Mr. Wilcox with the “Magnolia Silver Award”, a municipal honor given to expatriates for their outstanding contribution to the city’s economic, social or cultural development.

Mr. Wilcox earned a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School, as well as a PhD in German studies Ohio State University.

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