Sara Rona


Sara Rona is a director of Startup Banking for Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and is the market lead for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) and Global Channel Partnerships across ANZ, India, MENA, and LAtAm.

Sara joined SVB in 2018 as a director of business planning, covering Technology and Healthcare banking. There, she helped drive go to market strategy, objectives and key results for the commercial bank. She partnered closely with the leadership team to execute and operationalize communication strategy, roadmaps and division-wide initiatives. Earlier in her career, she held various roles in corporate strategy, product management and business development at various organizations like HSBC, IFC-World Bank and Deutsche Bank.

Sara earned a bachelor’s degree in international business at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. She received an international MBA from St. Mary’s University College in the United Kingdom and Naresuan University in Bangkok, where she wrote her dissertation.

Born to a French mother and Afghan father, Sara considers herself fortunate to be part of two distinct cultures. Both cultures have been a strong influence on who she is, her values and the way she views the world. She is fluent in French and is learning Dari. Sara is also heavily involved in social impact. She has done pro-bono consulting work with an agribusiness startup in Nairobi, in addition to volunteer work in Afghanistan. In her free time, Sara is planning her next scuba dive or ski weekend.
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Global Gateway
Director – Australia & New Zealand + Global Channel Partnerships

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