Claire is the head of Silicon Valley Bank’s group dedicated to working with founders, entrepreneurs and pre Series A companies.

This team oversees strategic partnerships with leading accelerators, incubators, investment groups, entrepreneurial and industry groups that support founders at the early stage.

Silicon Valley Bank works with more than 50 percent of the VC backed companies globally.

Claire joined SVB in January 2014 from Microsoft Ventures, where she was a Principal in the new seed fund, evaluating and investing in early stage startups, working closely with the partners that incubate, invest in and support them. Prior to this Claire was part of the corporate strategy team that created and launched Microsoft BizSpark program globally, with a focus on Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Her career began with IBM in Ireland.

Passionate about education and inclusion, international affairs and providing greater access to capital and opportunity, Claire is an advisor to Astia Global and the U.S. State Department.