John Dean is an advisor to Artiman and its portfolio companies. He is an early-stage investor with a focus on the financial services space. He is interested in business models that drive lower cost, provide a more efficient delivery mechanism, and provide new services to consumers and/or businesses.

John has spent 35 years as an executive in the financial services industry, focusing on technology start-up companies for many years. He is presently the Chairman and CEO of Central Pacific Bank, Honolulu, Hawaii. Since joining Central Pacific Bank (CPB) in 2010, John has led the bank in its $325 million recapitalization and its return to profitability. CPB now has 13 quarters of profitability since its recapitalization. During the past four years John has been recognized as Hawaii Business Magazine’s ‘CEO of the Year’, Sales and Marketing Executives ‘Salesperson of the Year’, Pacific Business News ‘Business Leader of the Year’, and Pacific Buddhist Academy’s ‘Inspirational Leader’.

From 1993 to 2001, John was Chief Executive Officer of Silicon Valley Bancshares and Silicon Valley Bank, and, from 2001 to 2003, he was Chairman of the Board. During his eight years as CEO at Silicon Valley Bank, assets grew from $935 million to $5.5 billion; employees from 235 to over 1,000; and market capitalization from $63 million to a high of over $3 billion. During this period, he was recognized by Business Week as one of Silicon Valley’s top 25 “movers and shakers” and by Forbes as one of the “50 most powerful dealmakers.” In 2000, and again in 2001, Silicon Valley Bancshares was ranked first among the second-hundred largest banking companies in the United States by U.S. Banker, based upon return on equity and growth in per-share net income over a five-year period. And in 2001, Fortune ranked Silicon Valley Bancshares among the ‘100 Fastest-Growing Companies’ based on growth in revenues, EPS, and total market return over three years. Prior to Silicon Valley Bank, John had been CEO of Pacific First Bank (1991-1993), First Interstate Bank of Washington (1989-1991), and First Interstate Bank of Oklahoma (1986-1989). Two of these banks, similar to Silicon Valley Bank, were troubled institutions under regulatory orders and needing to be restructured and returned to profitability.

Since 2005, John has been Managing General Partner of Startup Capital Ventures, a small private equity fund that focuses on early-stage companies. The fund is fully invested, and today net asset value and distributions are well in excess of invested capital.

John is an advisor for various venture capital firms in the United States and overseas and a director for several venture-backed companies. In the non-profit area, John is Chairman Emeritus of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Hawaii, Chairman of the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Hawaii, and a board member of Aloha United Way and Chair for the 2012-2013 Campaign.

John is a graduate of Holy Cross College, a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Western Samoa, and a graduate of the Wharton School with an M.B.A. in Finance.