CIBC Innovation Banking announced that it is opening a new office in Seattle, Washington to help support the growth ambitions of the hundreds of existing and emerging start ups in the area.

Leading the expansion effort in Seattle is John Flemming, who joins the CIBC Innovation Banking North American team as a Managing Director as the group looks to expand its presence in the greater Pacific Northwest region.

Through this new office, CIBC Innovation Banking will look to deliver its robust expertise in growth capital, advisory, and cash management to innovation companies in the Seattle area, which has seen record funding, hiring, and IPOs over the last few years.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the CIBC Innovation Banking team during this exciting period of growth, and look forward to helping to deliver its unique financial services capabilities to innovation companies across the region as they look to scale their businesses,” said John Flemming, Managing Director of CIBC Innovation Banking’s Seattle office. “The start up ecosystem in Seattle has seen an incredible economic boom in recent years, and this new office opening signals our team’s commitment to supporting the future advancement and acceleration of innovation in this market.”

Flemming will bring his unique understanding of the market and over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry – with 15 of those in the tech banking sector – to the team at CIBC Innovation Banking. Flemming joins from Wells Fargo, where he was most recently Team Leader in the Pacific Northwest market for the bank’s Middle-Market Technology Banking Group, focusing primarily on client origination – extending debt financing, providing treasury solutions, and placement of opportunities for the bank’s Strategic Capital and Capital Markets teams.

“We’re excited to have John come aboard our team to open the Seattle office and bring the CIBC Innovation Banking brand and product suite to the greater Pacific Northwest,” said Mark McQueen, President & Executive Managing Director at CIBC Innovation Banking. “John’s knowledge, experience, and track record will be valuable to our team as we look to support the future growth of this region’s longstanding technology ecosystem and continue to build out across North America and overseas.”

Seattle marks the 13th office to open as the group continues its strategic growth in key technology, life science, and cleantech markets across North America, the UK, and select European markets.