Ben Johnson: Adapting, Developing, and Leading in Banking

Today’s episode features Ben Johnson, a longtime colleague and friend from the Silicon Valley Bank ecosystem whose career spans nearly three decades across private banking, commercial lending, venture debt, seed-stage ecosystem building, and now specialty finance at Celtic Bank. Ben walks us through his early life in Minnesota, the path that led him into banking, and how he ultimately found his way to SVB — just months before the global financial crisis. We explore his evolution into life science and med-tech lending, his seven-year effort building SVB’s national seed-stage life science strategy, and his firsthand experience navigating the events of SVB’s 2023 collapse. Ben then shares what drew him to Celtic Bank, how industrial loan companies operate, and what makes them structurally unique in today’s financial system. It’s an insightful conversation about career pivots, leadership, and the future of specialty finance.