Grasshopper Bank has appointed Barbara Fleming as its head of Venture Capital and Private Equity Relationships.
Fleming joins from Bridge Bank, where she helped launch and expand its private equity and venture capital direct lending group. While there, Fleming lead the group’s business development efforts, product rollout, credit policy implementation, and portfolio management. She has more than 30 years of experience in a variety of business development focused banking roles, and prior to joining Bridge Bank served as senior vice president at Square 1 Bank. She has also held senior roles at Merrill Lynch, Wachovia, and Comerica Bank.
“I couldn’t be happier to announce that Barbara is joining our team and spearheading our venture capital and private equity division,” said Judith Erwin, CEO of Grasshopper Bank. “Her expertise in building and growing practices from the ground up is pivotal to our success. It further demonstrates that Grasshopper is committed to serving the entirety of the innovation ecosystem and is attracting top talent to execute on our vision.”
Grasshopper Bank opened for a select group of initial clients on May 13, 2019 and will work with companies across the innovation ecosystem, from startups with a handful of employees to established players. It raised more than $131 million in initial funding, believed to be the largest capital raise for a start-up bank in the U.S.
