Silicon Valley Bank appointed Phil Cox its new chief operations officer. Erin Platts will take over as head of EMEA and president of the UK Branch from Cox. Both will take on their new duties on April 1, 2019.
Cox will succeed current COO Mike Dreyer, who plans to retire. Platts is currently head of Relationship Banking, Europe for SVB.
“Three years ago, we asked Mike to come out of retirement to take our operations to the next level. I’m incredibly appreciative of the work he has done to develop a great team, build the foundation for taking a more global approach to operations and improve the stability of SVB’s IT infrastructure and project governance. We’re grateful that Mike will delay his retirement to stay on in a consulting role to help with the transition and continued growth of our business,” said Greg Becker, SVB CEO. “Phil’s experience in global operations and management make him the ideal candidate for continuing to evolve our organization from the strong platform Mike built and continuing our commitment to operational excellence.”
In his new role as COO, Cox will oversee SVB’s core operations, enterprise project management, client service and information technology teams.
Cox joined SVB in London in 2009 to lead the establishment of the bank’s UK Branch and oversee its other EMEA-based lending businesses. Under his leadership, SVB built a strong reputation serving the unique financial services needs of technology and life science companies in the UK and Europe. Prior to joining SVB, Cox was the head of Commercial Banking at Bank of Scotland in London and served with the NatWest/RBS Group for 23 years.
A 14-year veteran of SVB, Platts has a strong history of market and product development and is experienced in leading established businesses and building new teams from the ground up. Her existing remit covers all stages, sectors and life cycles of the innovation economy across Europe.
She originally joined SVB’s Boston office in 2004 and transitioned to the UK office in 2007, Platts is a well-connected and active champion of the global innovation economy.
“Erin is a key member of the EMEA and UK Management Committees and brings a deep understanding of SVB, our clients and their needs to this role,” said Mike Descheneaux, SVB president. “She is a champion of the global innovation economy and I’m thrilled to have her lead SVB’s future growth in Europe.”
