THE LONG-TIME boss of Silicon Valley Bank's (SVB) UK arm, who stayed on after its collapse and rescue by HSBC last year, has been poached by London-based investment firm Octopus Ventures.

Erin Platts has been appointed UK chief executive of Octopus Ventures, marking the end of her two-decade career with SVB, which collapsed last year.

Platts is due to stay in her role until the end of the year to help choose a successor and become a "special advisor" to HSBC from the beginning of 2025.

"After 20 years at Innovation Banking, with the bank in a strong position and with an experienced and stellar leadership team in place, I thought carefully about my next challenge," Platts said.

She added that she was "thrilled" that she would be continuing to "support tech entrepreneurs and founders to achieve their goals" in her new role.

Simon Rogerson, Octopus Group co-founder and chief executive, said Platts will help lead Octopus Ventures into its "next phase of growth".

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper