Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a U.S.-based commercial bank that focuses on lending to technology companies and has helped fund more than 30,000 start-ups globally, yesterday announced its expansion in Canada with a new office in Montreal.
SVB provides a range of specialized financial services to private and public tech and life science companies in Canada and to investors in those companies. Shopify, Paper, Sierra Oncology, and White Star Capital have all taken advantage of its offerings.
The bank also announced the appointment of Karl Théard as director of technology banking, Quebec. Based in Montréal, Théard is responsible for the development of new business relationships, as well as the management of the current portfolio of SVB clients in Quebec, SVB noted in an Oct. 12 press release
“Quebec’s innovation ecosystem continues to mature and draw attention from top investors and experienced founders,” said Paul Parisi, head of Canada at SVB. “With CAD $953M invested in Montréal in the first half of 2021, the city is taking its place as one of the leaders in terms of investment dollars and number of deals in Canada. We’re excited to welcome Karl to SVB and we know his deep understanding of the Montréal tech and investor community will be invaluable to the city’s high-growth companies.”
Théard was previously an investment manager at Desjardins Capital, where he supported the growth of numerous companies by developing financing solutions and helping them streamline operations. Prior to joining Desjardins, he was a senior manager at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), working with large companies in a variety of sectors, including technology. Théard earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from HEC Montréal.
SVB has been working with Canadian companies from its U.S. offices for two decades. The bank launched in Canada in 2019 with its headquarters in Toronto. It expanded its Canada operation in 2020 with the hire of Caterina Papadakos to oversee Western Canada from Vancouver and continues to grow its Toronto-based team.