WASHINGTON – On March 12, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) appointed Timothy J. Mayopoulos, a Greek-American, as the new chief executive officer of Silicon Valley Bank, a subsidiary of the defunct SVB Financial Group (SIVB.O). Mayopoulos takes over after regulators shut down the bank, which focused on start-ups, on Friday due to a run on its deposits that left it short of funds. The regulator transferred all deposits, insured and uninsured, as well as virtually all of the bank’s assets to a newly created bridge bank.

Mayopoulos was born to Harry B. Mayopoulos and his wife Eleanor Ida Mayopoulos on March 7, 1959. His father was an aerospace technician, trade unionist, and member of the United Auto Workers, while his mother worked part-time for a department store chain. Mayopoulos earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Cornell University in 1980 and a doctorate from New York University School of Law in 1984.

Mayopoulos is known as a trusted executive in the industry with experience in both financial institutions affected by crises and the technology sector. He joined Fannie Mae after the 2008 financial crisis and later became chairman and CEO, returning the company to profitability and delivering over $167 billion in dividends to taxpayers.

(Material from Reuters and iefimerida.gr was used in this article)