Signature Bank Expands Its Fund Banking Division and Venture Banking Group With Appointment of New Banking Professionals

Both Teams Strengthen Bank’s National Presence in their Respective Areas of Focus

Signature Bank, a New York-based full-service commercial bank, announced today the expansion of both its established Fund Banking Division as well as its recently formed Venture Banking Group, with the appointment of several new banking professionals.

Within the Fund Banking Division, Charlie Owens was named to the position of Managing Director, based in Charlotte, N.C. In this role, Owens, a 25-year banking veteran, will focus on sourcing, originating and structuring new business opportunities in the private equity industry. For the past seven years, Owens served as Managing Director within Wells Fargo’s Subscription Finance Group, responsible for origination and structuring fund financing facilities, also located in Charlotte.

Concurrently, Brad Boland, with two decades of banking experience, was also named Managing Director. He is based in the Bank’s San Francisco private client banking office. Boland will also focus on generating new opportunities within the private equity industry, with an emphasis on the West Coast. Earlier, for nearly eight years, Boland was Managing Director and Co-head of Originations for Wells Fargo’s Subscription Finance Group, responsible for developing and implementing origination strategy and managing a team of six Charlotte-based originators.

Signature Bank’s newly launched Venture Banking Division added ten senior-level team members throughout the country, most of whom join from Square 1 Bank, a division of Pacific Western Bank. The Venture Bank Group now totals 28 banking professionals nationwide.

Jody Shepherd was named Managing Director, Technology. He will manage the technology banking practice in the Rocky Mountain region and will be based in Denver. Formerly, Shepherd spent more than eight years at Square 1 in Denver, most recently serving as Managing Director, Rocky Mountain.

Jeff Lampe, Managing Director, Technology in Chicago, will oversee a 13-state region spanning the Midwest, focusing on venture lending to regional and national venture capital entities. He held the same title at Square 1 for three years prior to joining Signature Bank. He brings an 18-year career in banking and venture capital to his new role.

Also based in Chicago is Lisa Foussianes, appointed to the post of Senior Vice President on the Life Sciences team. In this role, she will handle loan originations and relationship management. Previously, Foussianes, who has worked in banking for two decades, was Senior Vice President on Square 1’s Life Sciences team, also in Chicago, for six years.

Philip Korn was appointed to the role of Managing Director, Head of Venture Capital Relationships for the Bay Area. Korn, with more than 25 years of banking-related experience, held the same position at Square 1, managing national venture capital relationships for more than six years. Korn’s emphasis will be on increasing visibility of the Group’s capabilities throughout the national venture community by managing, growing and maintaining relationships with venture capital investors nationwide.

Seong Kim was named Managing Director, Technology, based in Los Angeles. He will be responsible for launching the Venture Banking Group’s technology banking practice on the West Coast. In this capacity, Kim will build out the team in Los Angeles as well as handle new business development among high-growth technology companies across several major innovation hubs, such as San Diego, Los Angeles, the Bay Area and Seattle. Kim, with 15 years of related experience, joins from Comerica Bank’s Technology and Life Sciences Division, where he held roles of increasing responsibility, most recently serving as Managing Director and Head of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast region.

Several banking professionals will join Signature Bank’s Venture Banking Group in Durham, N.C.: Justin McDonie was named Managing Director, Life Sciences; Michael Fulton was appointed Managing Director, Venture Capital Services; and Zack Mansfield was named Managing Director, Technology.

McDonie, with more than 13 years of experience in the life sciences arena and several in banking, will concentrate on growing the Venture Banking Group’s Life Sciences practice nationwide. He will handle new loan originations as well as cultivate relationships with venture capital investors and entrepreneurs across life sciences verticals nationwide. He joins from Bridge Bank, where he held the same title as that of his new role and was a co-founder of its Life Sciences platform.

Fulton brings 14 years of banking experience to his new role, in which he will focus on providing banking services to venture capital firms. He previously served as Senior Vice President, Equity Funds Group at Square 1 for nine years, where he held similar responsibilities.

In his new position, Mansfield will work on new business development and relationship building amongst high-growth technology companies and the venture community throughout the Southeast. He held the same position at his previous employer, Square 1 Bank, since joining 12 years ago.

Appointed to the post of Managing Director, Technology in Atlanta, Ned Hill will develop and manage the Group’s venture banking business throughout Atlanta and the Southeast as well as Texas. Prior to joining the Venture Banking Group at Signature Bank, Hill was Managing Director, Technology Banking for Square 1, also developing and managing the venture banking business for the Southeast for approximately four years. Prior, Hill was Managing Director at Mercury Fund, a Houston-based early-stage venture capital firm.

Kevin Johnson, whose banking experience spans 15 years, was also named Managing Director, Technology, as part of the newly formed national Venture Banking Group. In his new role, Johnson, based in Washington, D.C., will work closely with entrepreneurs by providing debt and cash management solutions for technology companies supported by venture capital. Formerly, Johnson was Managing Director, Mid-Atlantic at Square 1, based in Chevy Chase, Md., where he led the team in the Mid-Atlantic region.

“The expansion of both our Fund Banking Division and Venture Banking Group is demonstrative of the market opportunity we’ve identified in each of these businesses. We believe the venture capital and private equity arenas are rapidly growing sectors which will prove beneficial to our growth — ones where our relationship-based model would bode well for the types of clients we attract and serve. In keeping with our single-point-of-contact, relationship-based approach, we identified top talent initially to lead and grow these businesses. Under the leadership of Tom Byrne in our Fund Banking Division and Ken Fugate for our Venture Banking Group — both proven professionals with significant growth track records in their respective areas – we are swiftly establishing a foothold in venture capital and private equity banking. We welcome these new colleagues throughout the country and look forward to their ongoing contributions to the Bank’s growth,” said Signature Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph J. DePaolo.