Lead Organizer and Chairman of the Board
Steven Chang, MD, FAANS, MBA, CFP
Dr. Chang has extensive experience in finance, real estate, and venture capital. He currently serves as Managing Partner at Blue Pacific Capital LLC and 3LA Ventures LLC, both of which consist of real estate and venture capital funds. Prior to this Dr. Chang was a Managing Partner at an equity securities broker/dealer responsible for corporate strategy, business development, investor relations, and operations.
Dr. Chang is a Certified Financial Planner and has an active California real estate license. Dr. Chang is a Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University where he earned his MD, a BS in Biology with Honors, and an AB in Quantitative Economics with Honors. Dr. Chang also has an executive MBA from Pepperdine University.
Board Member Highlights
Sanjeev Khagram, PhDDr. Khagram is a world-renowned scholar and practitioner in the areas of globalization, transnationalism, leadership, strategic management, and entrepreneurship. He is the CEO, Director General and Dean of the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University (ASU). Most recently, he has been serving as the Founder and architect of Global Partnership on Carbon Renewal. Prior to that he led the establishment of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data and International Open Data Charter and founded the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT).
Dr. Khagram has a PhD in Global Political Economy from Stanford University.
Mr. Peng is an Associate Director at Stanford University’s Office of Development facilitating relationships and donor opportunities with international alumni. Prior to Stanford, Mr. Peng had an extensive career in investment management in Hong Kong and San Francisco. He served as Managing Director at Man Group plc and Point72 Asset Management, and spent 9 years as a Principal at Quellos Group and a Managing Director at its successor, BlackRock Inc. His career started with Goldman Sachs and Bank of America. Mr. Peng is currently a Trustee at The Branson School and on the Advisory Board at The Eaglebrook School. Previously, Mr. Peng served on the Board at The American Club in Hong Kong.
Mr. Peng holds BA degrees in Economics and English with Honors from Stanford University.
Mr. Rossell has 27+ years of commercial banking experience, 20 of which as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), including Founding President and CEO and Director of the following 3 banks: California Bank Of Commerce (2007-2012); Santa Cruz County Bank (2004-2006); and Heritage Bank of Commerce (1993-2000). Prior to this, Mr. Rossell served as Senior Credit Officer for Silicon Valley Bank. Prior to this, he was Vice President in Wells Fargo’s San Francisco Corporate Banking Group and as President of Wells Fargo, Canada.
Mr. Rossell holds a BA in English and a MBA from the University of Virginia.
Dr. Tribbitt is a tenured professor of strategic management at Pepperdine University. Prior to pursuing a career in academia, Mark spent 14 years in the financial services industry in various leadership positions. Most recently, he was Vice President of Operations for JP Morgan, managing servicing and trading of a $350 billion mutual fund portfolio. Prior to that, he served as a Manager at MBNA from 1995 to 1999.
Dr. Tribbitt has an MBA from Villanova University and a PhD in Business Administration and Management from Drexel University.
Karl-Heinz Lachnit is an attorney specializing in mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financing, corporate governance, and securities law compliance. He advises management groups, board of directors and investors in complex transactions, and developing and executing their business strategies. He has worked on over 250 mergers and acquisitions and securities transactions, ranging from several million dollars to more than five hundred million dollars. In addition, Karl-Heinz obtained his Certified Public Accountant (inactive) license in 1995, with work experience in both Big 6 CPA and regional accounting firms.
He served as President of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, Silicon Valley Chapter in 2014 to 2015, and on their Board of Directors from 2009 to 2016.
Ron Caton
Mr. Caton is a commercial banking executive with a career spanning 38 years. He has extensive knowledge and expertise in banking with focus on strategic planning, credit/compliance risk management, commercial banking products, business growth/operations and governance. Mr. Caton has held prominent positions in Wells Fargo Bank’s Commercial Banking Group. His career at Wells Fargo included executive responsibilities for relationship management, sales and marketing, credit originations and approvals, treasury/payment services, capital markets, compliance, and governance.
Mr. Caton attended Santa Clara University where he earned a BA in humanities and a Master in Business Administration.
Executive Team Highlights
Tom Vertin, CEO
40+ years in banking, including a 7 years as CEO of $1.5 billion Pacific Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ: PMBC) (sold to Banc of California) and CEO of $700 million LA based Golden State Bank where he currently serves on its Board of Directors.
He spent 18 years with Silicon Valley Bank (1993 to 2012) including serving as its Chief Operating Officer and Western Division Head responsible for client acquisition, sales and portfolio management. Tom began his career with Bank of America. He then held positions with various SF Bay Area community banks focused on client acquisition, market differentiation, and sales management.
Tom Tolda, CFO
30+ years in multinational and community banks with concentration in finance, accounting., and treasury management. Tom was CFO at East- West Bank, Rabobank N.A.,, Mission Community Bank, and Heritage Oaks Bank.
He began his career with Citibank’s int’l group in NY, was CFO of Wells Fargo’s consumer lending, and most recently was CFO of Revolut Technologies, a fintech start-up.
Rudolph Garcia, CCOMr. Garcia brings over 30 years of banking experience to Altos Bank as Chief Credit Officer. Born and raised in Santa Clara County, he has strong connection to the local communities that make him well-suited to lead the bank’s credit and lending operations.
Previously, he served as Chief Credit Officer at San Francisco-based Beacon Business Bank, managing credit risk and lending. He also led the SBA Lending Departments at Lighthouse Bank and Community Bank of the Bay after spending 23 years at Wells Fargo Bank, where he gained experience in credit risk and analysis.
A Santa Clara University graduate, Mr. Garcia holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce, specializing in Accounting.
Managing Directors
Sanjay Mody, Head of OperationsWith over 30 years in multinational and regional banks, Sanjay has led innovative transformations in banking operations, technology, and risk management.
As Chief Enterprise Operations Officer at NuVision Federal Credit Union, he drove digitalization, automation, and enhanced member experiences. As the head of Global Operations and Technology at East West Bank, he led and scaled global operations and IT infrastructure, product capabilities and implemented advanced compliance and fraud prevention systems.
Previously, at Silicon Valley Bank, Sanjay introduced digitized onboarding and led global operations and client service organizations. At JPMorgan and Bank of America, where he began his career, he led global teams delivering treasury solutions, client services, operations and risk management worldwide.
Sundar Padmanabhan, Director of ITWith over 25 years of experience primarily in banking and fintech, Sundar has a proven track record of achieving operational excellence in both corporate and startup environments. He is an entrepreneurial and innovative leader, having co-founded IDD Labs and served as CTO at Ripe.io, where he successfully built and scaled startups over the past six years.
Prior to that, he spent 15 years at Silicon Valley Bank, where he held IT responsibilities for various business units, including Core Banking, Digital Banking, Payments, FX, Trade Finance, and Asset-Based Lending (ABL). He oversaw the integration, customization, and upgrade of key systems within the bank. Sundar began his career as a consulting software engineer and later made significant contributions at Oracle as a Senior Technical Analyst.
Michael Hensley, Head of Business Development 27+ years of banking experience – the last 22 years with First Republic Bank (FRB), most recently serving as Executive Director of the Western Region. For the 10 years prior, he served as FRB’s Peninsula and East Bay Regional Manager.