Laura Izurieta, the newly appointed chief risk officer at Silicon Valley Bank, who came to the bank from Capital One, discusses the differences in creating awareness of risks for employees and board members, and how technology is changing the way risks are measured and mitigated.

What are the differences in managing risks between a giant financial institution like Capital One and one the size of Silicon Valley Bank?

Ms. Izurieta: There are more similarities than differences because the basic process of managing risk just isn’t all that different. Both companies really are forward-leaning and focused on innovation and manage the same risk types and have similar infrastructure to manage risk. One of the key differences though is that while Silicon Valley Bank has a strong risk foundation and understands the innovation industry, its risk program and practices need to grow and get bigger than where they are. Some risk practices may not be as mature at a bank the size of SVB as they are at a bank the size of Capital One. A risk program should be tailored to the size and complexity of the bank, tailored to its size and culture.

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