IVO TJAN
FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN, CEO
COMMERCEWEST BANK
WHO: Founded CommerceWest in 2001 and successfully steered it through crises like the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the 2008 financial meltdown. Former board member of nonprofit organizations including the New Majority, Marconi Foundation and Pretend City Children’s Museum.
WHY: Made the 2023 Business Journal’s Companies that Care list. Supports 75 nonprofits, reported upward of 300 volunteer hours and lent out more than $11M in Community Reinvestment Act loans and investments to the community.
IN THE NEWS: Shares of the bank remained relatively unchanged during the three-day collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
NOTABLE: Indonesian immigrant who started in banking just out of high school at mortgage lender Household Finance Corp. before later becoming vice president at Great Western Bank.
IN THEIR WORDS: “CW also primarily targets businesses with annual revenues of $5 million to $100 million throughout California to further limit our concentration on any one industry or client. The bank’s clients are traditional companies that are the bread and butter for small and midsize businesses in America.”
