Mark Gallagher has headed up the corporate venture capital operations of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) since 2020 – the latest in a string of roles at the financial group over the past two decades.
Gallagher believes that startups combined with Fortune 500+ companies have the potential to change the world through their venture capital investing, partnerships with entrepreneurs and appetite for acquisitions.
He said: “Our engagement with corporates will improve their probability of success in a world that is being disrupted and changed by innovation, while also helping the bank’s high growth clients achieve growth, scalability and success in a competitive, global environment.”
Among the unit’s recent investments are AutoFi, a digital platform for vehicle finance, fund infrastructure manager Flow, and Bolster, a scaling tool for startup CEOs. SVB’s exits include the sale for $205m of connected devices service Tile to Life360 in November 2021 as well as the acquisition by Wex of Noventis, an electronic payments network, in 2019.
During his tenure with SVB Gallagher has been involved in a number of strategic projects and initiatives, most recently leading the technology banking practice in the northeast US and leading SVB’s expansion into Canada. Prior to that he served as the head of business development in New England and spent several years running SVB’s Northeast Life Science practice.
Gallagher earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from University College in Dublin, Ireland and an MBA from Trinity College, which is also in Dublin.
