SANTA MONICA, Calif. and
SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Valence, the
community to connect and empower Black professionals, and Silicon
Valley Bank (SVB), the bank of the world's most innovative
companies and their investors, will host a series of inspiring and
educational virtual events this summer for Black professionals.
The Valence Boost Challenge Virtual Event Series, presented by
Silicon Valley Bank, will provide access to Black leaders in the
innovation economy and unite the community during these challenging
times. The series will include:
- Leadership and the Importance of Mentorship During a Crisis
Wednesday, June 10 at 4:00 pm PT
Business Icons will share their strategies for navigating and
leading through uncertain times. They will share personal insights
on their ascent to positions of leadership with major companies in
a world that often looks past people of color for those roles. They
will share strategies for leaders, entrepreneurs and small business
owners to be effective and successful leaders in a new era of
social and economic change.
Speakers:
-
- Peggy Alford, Senior Vice
President at PayPal and Facebook board member
- Omar Johnson, founder of Opus
and former CMO at Beats by Dre and Vice President of Marketing at
Apple
- Jim Lowry, Senior Advisor at BCG
and Valence, author and the first Black consultant at McKinsey
- Kobie Fuller, Valence co-founder
and partner at Upfront Ventures will moderate the session
- Founders x Funders Roundtable
Wednesday, July 15
Black entrepreneurs and investors will discuss how the startup
landscape is changing for Black founders and funders and how best
to adapt.
Speakers to be confirmed
- Virtual Summit
Tuesday, August 11
Attendees will have unprecedented access to Black leaders and learn
how to make bold decisions, achieve their goals and shift the
culture. The summit will feature tracks on innovation, culture and
growth.
Speakers to be confirmed
As part of the Valence Boost Challenge, event speakers are
offering Boosts - 30 minute mentorship session via the Valence
platform. Event attendees and Valence community members have the
opportunity to request Boost mentorship sessions from these and
hundreds of other Black leaders participating in the Boost
Challenge. By the end of August Valence aims to offer 5,000
Boosts.
"Our goal is to support black professional growth and pathways
to success and we saw this partnership with SVB as a great way to
build community and provide authentic support across the Innovation
Economy during a very challenging time," said Kobie Fuller, CoFounder of Valence and GP at
Upfront Ventures.
Increasing diverse representation in the innovation economy is
the focus of SVB's Access to Innovation program. For years SVB
clients have shared that their top challenge is finding talent with
the skills needed to grow their businesses. SVB recognizes that
diverse workforces create strong companies, and a great way to find
new talent pools is to look both outside of traditional networks
and to make the extra effort to look in untraditional places.
Through Access to Innovation programs, partnerships and financing,
SVB provides educational and job opportunities for emerging talent,
encourages gender parity and diversity in leadership, and makes
connections for female and minority founders and investors.
Silicon Valley Bank supported Valence's Black History Month
Spotlight event in February at the California African American
Museum in Los Angeles. The event
focused on uniting and empowering black professionals across LA and
allowed them to give back to the community. Throughout the day,
young professionals from South LA were paired up with Industry
Leaders for mentorship roundtable discussions and more than 400
attendees participated in the reception that evening. Check out the
event recap here.
"SVB is proud to bank clients like Valence who are providing
real solutions to accessing and uplifting remarkable, diverse
talent," said Courtney Karnes,
Director of SVB's Access to Innovation Program. "We've built this
Virtual Event Series with a goal of creating connection,
strengthening community and providing mentorship and career growth
opportunities for professionals of color."
For more information about the Valence Boost Challenge Virtual
Event Series, powered by SVB, visit
https://valence.events/valence-boost-challenge-virtual-events-presented-by-silicon-valley-bank/
About Silicon Valley Bank
For more than 35 years, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has helped
innovative companies and their investors move bold ideas forward,
fast. SVB provides targeted financial services and expertise
through its offices in innovation centers around the world. With
commercial, international and private banking services, SVB helps
address the unique needs of innovators. Learn more
at svb.com.
©2020 SVB Financial Group. All rights reserved. SVB, SVB
FINANCIAL GROUP, SILICON VALLEY BANK, MAKE NEXT HAPPEN NOW and the
chevron device are trademarks of SVB Financial Group, used under
license. Silicon Valley Bank is a member of the FDIC and the
Federal Reserve System. Silicon Valley Bank is the California bank subsidiary of SVB Financial
Group (Nasdaq: SIVB).
About Valence
Valence is a platform that connects, showcases, and empowers the
global Black professional community. Members have exclusive access
to discover and pursue new career opportunities, and businesses
with great cultures and initiatives related to diversity gain
access to an unrivaled network of talent. Join by signing up at
www.valence.community.
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SOURCE Silicon Valley Bank