Silicon Valley Women Leaders Association Chapter Meeting: Resilience and

So Danielle, can you say hello? Hi everyone. Wonderful to meet you. Wonderful to be here. Thanks again for having me. Um so I think we will just dive in if that works. Um well it's just really really inspirational um to be here today with so many uh women impact leaders. talking about our careers, um what we've learned along the way in our um journeys as um executives, as managers, as leaders, and how we continue to persevere and and do good work. Um and today, what I wanted to do was really share my story about resilience and culture. So, I'm Danielle Conkling and I'm the head of sustainability at First Citizens Bank. Some of you may know the bank as the one who acquired Silicon Valley Bank last year.
Um so we'll just if we can just go to the next um slide. So um just by way of introduction, you know, I've not had the typical career path as a sustainability leader. I started my career over 25 years ago at two of the largest global financial institutions, City and JP Morgan. I was an investment banker, then a private banker, and then had roles in strategy at Bane and at SVB. And in all of these roles, really had the opportunity to work with some of the most interesting companies in the world, some of the most influential and wealthiest families. And it's been really my it was really my experience advising people and organizations on how they can make a meaningful impact through planning and philanthropy and building strategy and programs.
um that led me to take a bit of a leap of faith um and pivot to corporate responsibility and specifically sustainability and ESG at SVB. Um and these were really topics and activities that excited me the most. Um so, you know, really lucky um to have taken the career turn that I did. Um, and never in a million years, um, would I have ever expected, um, myself, you know, when I look back on my career to be in the role I'm in today. Um, but I, you know, I I simply seized an opportunity, um, to do something that I loved and and I made it my full-time gig. Um, which is great. Um, so just, um, the next next slide.
Um so just you know kind of thinking about my role um and bringing it back a few years in 2018 um SVB's corporate responsibility program was very much focused on regulatory compliance with the community reinvestment act. Um it was mostly donations and volunteering and just a few of the larger applicable markets. And at the time the concept of ESG and sustainability um were new but increasingly a topic of interest um to our to our shareholders, our customers, our employees. We didn't have an ESG team um nor did we have a sustainability program, but we had a lot of elements of it throughout our organization. We had the CRA program, uh, climate tech lending and renewable energy project financing, and a growing focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Um, we hadn't really put structure or framework around it, and we certainly had programmatic gaps and very little and broadly inconsistent um, communications, but I saw the possibilities and our executives um, asked my team to explore what this might look like for our organization. um you know very similar to I think what a lot of companies were doing at the time and so with really little direction and resources I learned everything I could and made a case to pilot ESG 1.0 I know it took you know really years and a lot of education and program building but through a lot of stops and starts and incremental steps um we not only had you know a carbon footprint for our organization and a global philanthropy and um community um kind of impact strategy um you really engaging over 80% of our employees and benefiting many of our communities that we operate in.
But we actually set bold targets um and goals and de demonstrated um commitment to ESG in um our reports and integrated them into how we operate and do business and you know we made real impact um and we became known for it at SVB but it it wasn't easy all the time but it felt natural because it was already part of our DNA and we really simply needed to put infrastructure and investment behind it. And 5 years later and 40 years after SVB's founding, my team was um you know getting ready for our newest ESG report and about to announce we had surpassed 2 billion of our $5 billion sustainable finance goal in just one year into our 5-year commitment.
And we were already thinking about what's next for us and you know our com what how our commitment to sustainability in ESG was fueling um innovation and growth and impact where it mattered and it was really a win for a lot of people. Um and so but then um if we go to the next slide um
a combination of many things um including interest rate hikes and an economic slowdown in venture capital and tech and a duration mismatch and how we manage our treasury portfolio and social media resulted in um I think what became known as the first Twitter fueled bank on um and the collapse of the bank and that broke my heart um because the company that I came to love um and call home was no longer um the important work that I did was over and I worried about who was going to fuel innovation for a better world. Um, you know, we finance the majority of climate innovation, minority founders, and life-changing solutions like the Madna CO 19 vaccine. Um, and you know, all while all that was happening, um, apparently some politicians decided to seize the moment um, and make it yet another kind of political spectacle.
And, you know, the headlines are saying ESG caused the bank failure, which I assure you it did not. Um and we knew that of course um but it but it hurt right like things were kind of falling apart but luckily the spectacle didn't last long and you know and kind of became a bit of a joke and it lost traction um very quickly and you know I look back at that now and I think about oh my gosh like as a leader like what did that feel like when kind of everything felt like it was falling apart. Um, and I I think back now and so if we go to the next slide, um, I remember thinking, well, well, what now?
You know, I went from kind of being in denial and angry and sad to finally accepting things. But there was a lot of uncertainty still. And I was scared. I was scared because I had no idea what my future held. Um, but I knew deep in my heart that my work was so important and that I needed to find a home to keep doing the good work that I've been doing, right? I changed my career and fell in love with this work. Um, so what was simultaneously inspiring for me was seeing my SVB colleagues in the trenches fighting to keep the bank alive. And I decided to join them because it was clear that we had something special and people wanted us to survive and keep going and we were going to keep fueling innovation for a better world because that's who we were even if it was under the FDIC and whomever.
Um and then if we go to the next slide, um it was really after 17 excruciatingly uncertain days um that First Citizens Bank, um you know, a smaller regional bank in North Carolina acquired us through the FDIC bank auction and um they decided not only to purchase um SVB is profitable and and growing loans and assets, but to retain its people and the wonderful things that made it special, including our sustainability team and the work that we were doing. And you know, never in a million years, of course, um would I have ever thought that a Southern family control bank would buy a hip Silicon Valley bank um known for its progressive culture and focus on impact, but they did.
and they've given me that opportunity to build sustainability in ESG um for the entire bank and keep fueling innovation for a better world. Um and so I'm grateful for that. And so when I think about resilience and culture as I reflect back on the last couple of years um if we go to the next slide just you know some of my reflections here was you know many of my colleagues many of them are still with us um you know over 80% of them and many of them keep coming back and I know that the fact I'm still at SVB or first citizens is one of the reasons um that a lot of our colleagues kept going and have stayed because not so much because of Danielle, but if I'm here, then so is sustainability and the values and impact that they stand for and that culture and that commitment of the individuals that made SVB.
It trans what I realized is that it really transcended beyond the legal entities and the physical walls of the organization. um people stayed because it was like in their hearts. They really believed in what they did and and we've brought that to First Citizens and they recognize how special that is and that's why we're here. Um and it wasn't easy the last year or so, but you know, I'm really lucky that we had each other. Um we stayed true to who we were, stuck sticking together, leveraging our successes, kind of seizing on those opportunities. um one day at a time saying really grateful but it allowed us to do this and and living those values kind of carried us through that difficult time and I mean I think that's you know one of the things that's um really inspired me and people always ask me like wow you're still there like you know why and and so many good reasons that I've shared with you um and so that is what I wanted to share today and I'm happy to take any questions.
I think that Well, thank you so much Danielle for sharing that story and also maybe answering some of the questions that we didn't know about the about the bank transition. We appreciate it. Yeah. So, I'm gonna go and and just a reminder, please keep those questions coming. All right. This one came in. Um you were you spoke about sustainability at the beginning of your presentation and Felicia says what is the first step in beginning a program especially with no budget. That's a really good question. Um and that's where a lot of companies start. And so when I think about when I started the pilot I mean we were a little different because we weren't a startup. We're a pretty large company with resources, but um you know a lot of what we did and what others have done are pretty similar in the sense that a lot of times it is really starting with taking stock of um what is most material to your organization.
So you know we call it a materiality assessment when we think about ESNG and looking at well what are the things you know is it is it your carbon footprint like there are table stakes right like everybody's needs to now have um a carbon footprint you need to disclose that especially if you're operating in the state of California um but it really you know every business and every industry and really every company um you know ESG is very very broad and so what ESG is for a um for a manufacturing company, it's going to look different from a professional services company. That's going to look very very different um from, you know, a tech company. And so really understanding what are the things um that most impact your business, you know, it could be privacy, it could be consumer safety, it could be things like water, it could be it could be like a lot of different things.
And so I think first identifying that a lot of companies will work with you know consultant. There's all kinds of consultants. Um there are big four firms and then there are smaller consulting firms. Um there are now a lot of kind of templated ways to do this. Um and a lot of it is really about kind of coming to um a point where you kind of know what you need to focus on and starting to develop a strategy and a plan for it. And a lot of that is about education and stakeholder engagement throughout the organization and really understanding what is it that you need to focus on and what elements of sustainability in ESG do you really already have in the organization to the point I was making.
You know, we already had different programs and what we had to do is stitch it together. But it also gave us an opportunity to look at where our gaps were and really think about um you know what is it that we're investing in? What is it that we do really well? what is it we could do better in? What don't we have at all? And looking at that relative to um the material areas um for our business. And so a lot of times it is and sometimes you start as one person and eventually you grow your team. Um but it a lot of that has to do with getting the organization on board and understanding what it is.
Hopefully that helps. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. Our next question is our company is going through a tough time I guess and how did you learn to manage employees and also how did you know what to tell them I guess or maybe communicate to them during these tough times? That's a really good question. So, um, when I go back to some of the those darker days when the even when just kind of the bank run had happened and the FDIC came in, um, we, you know, was like we didn't know a lot, right? um because things were happening so quickly and so even the executives and and the executives were kind of you know leaving um one by one and people were coming in for CFDIC and then of course the acquirer a few weeks later.
Um what I did with our team is we met every day. We met every day even if we didn't have an update to say we don't have an update. this is what we know. But also to just check in on people, to check in with people and see how they're feeling and to also just keep them busy because I think a lot of it is if there are things there were a lot of projects that we knew we could still wrap up and that we could still continue even if we didn't know where the company was going. There were projects, you know, consulting work that we had paid for. we knew we wanted to wrap it up, at least have the data because if we got acquired, um there were certain things that would have to be passed on to either the regulator or to the acquirer.
Um so, in a sense, keeping busy and focusing on what you did did know and have control over um kind of kept us going and I think that was really really helpful. I think also just staying close. I mean I retain my entire team. So we are all still here um because of that and that the team that we had the that day when um you on March 10th um is still very much the team that we have and I think that in the end our team decided that we didn't know what was going to be on the other end of things but that we had this unique ique opportunity to learn from it because how often does this kind of thing happen, right?
How often do you get to learn and lead um in chaos or through difficulty? And I think thinking about crisis um and the opportunities that that afford, it doesn't always feel good um but usually don't get that. And I think because we stuck together um and we were able to help each other through that, I think we um we're a resilient team, but we're also a very close team and we have a lot of respect for one another. Um so I think when I think about what I told them, I I told them the truth. I told them to look for a job because I didn't couldn't guarantee anything. Um and I'm still amazed that they're still here.
So, aside from contractors, like every all my full-time employees um stayed. Oh, that's wonderful. Well, and I mean, I would not have guessed that was going to happen. Um you know, and who knows, people find jobs, things happen, right? You never know. I mean, I think, you know, there's job markets and things like that that are factors as well. Um but yeah. Well, thank you. All right, I think we have time for maybe one more question and everyone Danielle's going to join us for the panel in a little bit. So, thank you so much. All right, so for our final question, our final question um from Helena is, was the culture of the new company different and how did you learn to adapt?
So, that's a really good question. Um, I would say that from the outside and from the surface, um, you could say, yeah, it was different, right? Like I said, um, kind of in my presentation, you know, it was a southern bank in South Carolina that got started in agriculture banking. And there was us at Silicon Valley Bank, the bank to the venture capitalists and innovation companies. And you you would look at that and be like, it couldn't be any more different, right? And I think, you know, at the outset, people kind of, you know, naturally went into it with those assumptions. And what I have learned over the last year and a half, um, since we've come together is that we're actually more similar than not.
Um so one thing that I think I realized is you know in the beginning I was like oh god you know like a lot of us were like why couldn't you know a big bank acquire us or you know some somebody were more familiar with right it was more fear of the unknown and I look back now um you know we could have gone gobbled up by one of those big banks that I used to work for and they would have taken what they had would have taken and spit us the rest of it out. Right. And this company like I said retained most of its our employees and most of the clients and big part of that was because we didn't have a lot of overlap and they had a lot of just like respect and understood the value of our organization.
And what they did know is that we grew our business well and we took care of our clients. And that's how they thought about their business. They were long-term thinkers that invested in their communities and they took care of their customers first and foremost. And when I think about culture um that is what's really important and finding that commonality just because we live in different parts of the country just because we got our start differently doesn't but in the end our values were the same and I think we've learned that over time and I now think back because at the time it was chaos the day that the um the FDI the auction happened and then it was announced that for citizens was purchasing us and many of us didn't know who they were.
Um, it was really interesting because I remember the next day some a few first citizens leaders came in, flew to California and met with us and I remember them coming to the office and the first thing they did was introducing themselves and they asked us how are you doing? We can't even imagine what you've got that to me was about culture. And so I think about that as a leader. Um it was just like it was very human and I think that's why there's so many of us still there. Well, that's wonderful. Well, thank you for sharing your story. So, as we before we move to Quinita's presentation, do you have any final words of wisdom on this topic?
Yeah, just that um I mean as you know women as leaders I think um you know you don't always get these opportunities to learn in such a meaningful way but there are always these little things that happen and I think um you know I think there's something special about the people that you're surrounded by um you know it was it was friends and leaders and a lot of women um who you know I kind of note through my networks who came and really supported me and my colleagues through all of this and I think about you know that resiliency is that you know you have it in yourself um but a lot of that resiliency you get from the people around you and that you don't have to lead on your all by yourself um that part of being a leader is um you know leading with others and asking for help and for support when you need Well,
that's great. Well, thank you so much for your time and wonderful thoughts this afternoon. Yeah, thank you for having me.