Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank, today announced Martin Murrell has been named Head of Global Payments and Milton Santiago was named Head of Global Digital Solutions.
The new leaders will further SVB’s commitment to innovative products, client solutions and exceptional client experience.
“In a period of dramatic change in the payments and digital banking landscape, Martin and Milton bring the vision and execution needed to enhance SVB’s product suite, bringing inventive and bespoke solutions to our innovation economy clients,” said Gagan Kanjlia, Chief Product Officer for SVB.
SVB has been the leader serving the innovation economy for 40 years. Following its acquisition by First Citizens in March 2023, SVB continues to provide specialized banking solutions, deep sector expertise, insights and connections to individuals and companies in the technology, life science and healthcare, private equity, venture capital and premium wine industries.
As Head of Global Payments, Murrell will lead the teams responsible for SVB’s core payments products, including commercial card, merchant services and embedded payments. He will oversee key product enhancements, product-related risk management efforts and critical client experience initiatives to create a differentiated payments platform for SVB.
Murrell brings more than 25 years of banking experience to the role. He joined SVB in 2022 to lead the Payments Infrastructure, Integration and Delivery team. Prior to SVB, Murrell was Chief Operating Officer at Amalgamated Bank, where he oversaw the institutional investment business, consumer banking network, enterprise technology, operations and risk. He was part of the executive team that took the bank public, and successfully executed the company’s first acquisition in its 100-year history.
Before Amalgamated Bank, Murrell was responsible for launching the Personal Savings direct deposit business at American Express. He previously held positions at Capital One and McKinsey & Company. He holds a doctorate in nuclear physics from the University of Oxford and a bachelor’s degree in physics from Durham University.
As Head of Global Digital Solutions, Santiago is responsible for defining SVB’s digital strategy and aligning technology investments in support of the strategy. He leads the Digital Solutions team in the creation of innovative digital client experiences.
With more than 30 years of digital transformation experience, Santiago has led transformation for several global commercial banks and has founded numerous digital solutions, including CashPro. Santiago joined SVB in 2018. He previously founded FinTech Advisors, LLC, where he provided guidance to banks seeking to transform their digital client experience. He established digital strategies for banks of all sizes, including those related to compliance and regulatory governance, client advisory, performance and analytics, and user experience.
Before consulting, Santiago served as Managing Director, Global Channels for Bank of America. There, he created CashPro and established the strategy for the global corporate portal and ecommerce channels targeting business banking, middle market, large corporate and financial institutions. He holds several patents in this space. Previously, Santiago spent 20 years with LaSalle Bank leading digital transformation in electronic banking product roles.