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Ken Wilcox has been president and CEO of SVB Financial Group since January 2000. He joined Silicon Valley Bank in 1990 when he co-founded the company's East Coast Technology Division.[…]

Ken Wilcox believes small enterprises like his can satisfy clients much better than large ones.

Wilcox: When you compare our business with the business of a large cap company, we have certain disadvantages and, of course, we have some real significant advantages. I think the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. On the disadvantage side, I would say that large cap companies typically have more access to capital. So in the end, they have more resources to draw on. On the other hand, I would say that we have certain advantages [and that] give us the opportunity to win in almost every situation. Two big things, one is it’s easier for us to attract and retain the best talent, I think, largely because we’re small enough that we can have a culture that’s consistent that people are conscious of, that people can identify with and that motivates people. I would also say that our size enables us to focus to a greater extent than might be true of a large cap company. We have 1,200 people in total. Those 1,200 people are all focused on exactly the same target market. Everybody in the organization understands what we do. That laser-like focus uniform throughout the entire corporation, uniting 1,200 people, enables us to accomplish things, and to make clients happy in ways that I think are almost impossible for large corporations.


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