Square 1 Bank, a division of Pacific Western Bank, announced that Frank Tower has been appointed as division president.
In his new role, Tower leads the national venture banking practice and will focus on deepening existing relationships and growing the Square 1 client base across the country. A career venture financier, Tower brings nearly 25 years of experience in lending to growth-stage technology and life sciences companies to his new position. He joined Square 1 in January 2014 as executive vice president, and managed the technology and life sciences practices along the East Coast and throughout the Midwest, including offices in Boston, New York, DC, Durham, Chicago and Denver.
“Throughout his career in the venture banking space, Frank has proven to be a successful and trusted leader with a passion for entrepreneurs and strong reputation for inspiring teams,” said Matt Wagner, chief executive officer and president of Pacific Western Bank. “His extensive industry experience and deep expertise in venture banking will be a valuable asset as the Square 1 division continues to accelerate on its growth plans. I could not be more pleased about his appointment to this critical role.”
Tower was a founding general partner of Gold Hill Capital, an independent venture debt firm, where he helped raise two funds that invested over $900 million into more than 200 venture-backed technology companies. As a senior member of Gold Hill’s investment and operating committees, Tower was involved in all aspects of fund deployment, portfolio management and strategic direction. Prior to founding Gold Hill, Tower spent over ten years in roles of increasing responsibility at Silicon Valley Bank, including senior vice president and senior risk officer in Boston.
“Square 1 has a rich history within the entrepreneurial community, and I am proud to lead such a talented group of people,” said Tower. “I look forward to continuing to support our clients, and staying true to our mission of being the best banking partner for entrepreneurs and their investors. Our primary job remains developing seamless banking solutions so our clients can focus on growing their businesses. We have a great team and I’m excited for the next chapter in our evolution.”
Doug Bowers, who as president and chief executive officer led Square 1 through its initial public offering and acquisition, will remain with the organization through March 31 to support the transition. Tower added, “Over the past five years, Doug has been a terrific partner and mentor to all of us at Square 1. He led the company during a time of outstanding growth and career-making milestones. We are thankful for his leadership, and all wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
Square 1 Bank is a division of Pacific Western Bank, a Los Angeles-based commercial bank with over $21 billion in assets. A full service financial services partner to entrepreneurs and their investors, Square 1 provides clients flexible resources and attentive service to help their companies grow. Square 1 offers a broad range of venture debt, treasury and cash management solutions through offices in top innovation centers: Austin, the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Durham, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, San Diego, Seattle and Washington, DC. Pacific Western Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PacWest Bancorp.