Priya Rajan

Priya is the Managing Director at Silicon Valley Bank. As the Market Lead for India, MENA and SEA, she provides international market entry advice and introductions with a focus on technology and innovation cross-border companies, entrepreneurs and venture capital funds in emerging markets. Prior to this role she was Director of Early Stage practice. Priya calls on her experience, expertise and connections to champion a more inclusive innovation economy. She works closely with community and diversity ecosystem partners, including Change Catalyst, Kapor Capital, Big Brothers Big Sisters Organization, Women Who Code, and more.  Other university partners Priya has partnered with include Dorm Room Fund, The House Fund, Stanford Venture Studio and Rough Draft Ventures.

Previously, Priya spent several years as the group controller for SVB Financial Group, where she managed financial and accounting functions for all global entities. As the global group financial officer, she served as a core member of the company’s Finance team. Earlier in her career, she held financial management positions at Charles Schwab and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. In addition to a bachelor’s degree from the University of Madras and a master’s degree in international business from Queen’s University, Priya holds an MBA in business administration from Cornell University and a California CPA in accounting and business administration.

Through her work at SVB, Priya supports entrepreneurs who strive to make the world a better place, and she echoes that commitment in her free time as well. She’s on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters and of Women Who Code, an organization dedicated to helping women to excel in technology careers. In addition, Priya is a charter member of TiE, a nonprofit focused on nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs, as well as a venture partner at Xfund, which connects venture capital firms with superior research universities and advisor at Entrepreneurship at Cornell University.

Taking bold steps with confidence is Priya’s forte, both on the job and off — in her free time, she loves to skydive. She also enjoys world travel (ask her about Kenya, her favorite spot so far). Aside from hopping on and off planes, Priya also enjoys classical music; she studied the genre for more than a decade — and has passed down her passion to her children.