Erin Platts named new Octopus Ventures CEO, steps down from HSBC Innovation Banking UK
Octopus Ventures, part of Octopus Group, has appointed departing HSBC Innovation Banking UK head Erin Platts as its new CEO, effective January 2025.
Erin Platts, new CEO of Octopus Ventures (Image: LinkedIn)
Platts announced her departure from HSBC Innovation Banking UK via LinkedIn this week, after a year as CEO.
The new Octopus Ventures boss will remain involved at her former employer, with HSBC’s UK CEO Ian Stuart stating that Platts will continue as a special advisor to HSBC and will “stay with us until the end of the year to help us identify a successor with the same passion, expertise and deep knowledge of the innovation economy”.
In her new position at Octopus Ventures, Platts has been tasked with “refining and enhancing” the firm’s equity capital business, expanding its scope into adjacent capital provision, and increasing the number of start-ups the company supports across the UK and Europe.
Moreover, Platts will join the Octopus executive committee and report to Stuart Quickenden, the firm’s executive chair. Meanwhile, the London-based VC says that Alliott Cole, the current acting CEO of Octopus Ventures, will return to a full-time investment role.
In addition to her time leading HSBC Innovation Banking UK, Platts served as CEO at Silicon Valley Bank UK, where she worked for 19 years before leaving in 2023.
Commenting on her decision to join Octopus Ventures, Platts explains that it was an “opportunity to build on Octopus Ventures’ excellent reputation and track record”, enabling her to play a role in “funding world-class companies at every stage of their journey, from the first cheque they receive, through scale-up capital, and ultimately to exit and beyond”.
Introduced in 2008, Octopus Ventures claims to manage over £2 billion and back more than 180 enterprises through institutional and wholesale funds, and venture capital trusts. Some of its prominent successes include investments in Depop, Graze, Swiftkey, Secret Escapes and Zoopla.
