Cisco TechBeat

AB sits down with Cisco's CIO, Fletcher Previn, to talk about the role IT plays in driving business success. Fletcher shares his thoughts on the skills needed for the future of IT, how AI can enhance human potential, and why individual creativity can drive even better IT experiences and outcomes. 

AB sits down for a fun, informative, in-person chat with Kelly Jones, Cisco's Chief People Officer, to discuss a variety of topics ranging from empathetic leadership to wellbeing in the workplace to future trends that could transform the HR landscape in 2025.

In this insightful and engaging episode, AB engages in a conversation with Dr. Guy Diedrich, Cisco's Senior Vice President and Global Innovation Officer, to explore the impressive global influence of the Cisco Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program. Marking its 10th anniversary, CDA has played a crucial role in narrowing the digital divide worldwide. This discussion delves into key subjects such as differentiating between resource availability and accessibility, building trust between global leaders and Cisco, and the importance of education and skill development to enhance countries' digital competitiveness, among many other topics

Wawira Njiru serves as the Founder and CEO of Food 4 Education, a non-profit organization dedicated to combating childhood hunger in Kenya by providing meals to over 500,000 students annually. In this insightful discussion, AB engages with Wawira and Brian Tippens, Cisco's Senior Vice President and Chief Social Impact & Inclusion Officer, to explore the significance of community-driven initiatives, the implementation of sustainable practices in tackling the global food crisis, the crucial role of trust in fostering partnerships between corporations and communities, and much more.

At Cisco, partnerships aren't merely a business transaction — they hinge on personal connections that have been cultivated over time. AB sits down with Rodney Clark, Cisco's SVP, Partnerships and Small & Medium Businesses, to chat about the ever-evolving partner ecosystem at Cisco. This great conversation dives into topics such as streamlining the partner experience, the shift from products to outcomes, the role of AI in driving better end-user experiences, and much more. 

AB sits down with Matt Caulfield, VP of Identity and Duo, Cisco Security, to talk about the vision and strategy for Cisco's identity portfolio. This insightful conversation spans various topics, including multi-factor authentication (MFA), social engineering, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in identity security technologies.

AB sits down with Matt MacPherson, Chief Technology Officer, Cisco Wireless, for an informative chat about the current state of Wi-Fi and cellular convergence, the importance of seamless roaming across Wi-Fi and cellular networks, and how Wi-Fi 7 is enhancing the user experience when compared to earlier Wi-Fi standards. 

AB sits down with Bert Soto, Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President of Sales at TGS, the official technology provider for the Kansas City Chiefs, 2024 NFL Champions. This great conversation focuses on the company's trajectory from a small business to a comprehensive IT consulting firm that handles all facets of an IT environment, including managed services, automation/AI, security platforms, and end-user devices. 

AB sits down with Papi Menon, VP of Product Management at Outshift by Cisco, to discuss Outshift's charter to foster new and cutting-edge tech ideas and tools to help technology teams succeed in the future. Building successful products is not an overnight effort, and this enlightening conversation emphasizes the critical roles of commitment and patience in guiding a new product from its initial concept to market launch.

AB sits down with Joe Vaccaro, GM, Cisco ThousandEyes, for a great conversation on the unique technology of ThousandEyes and how it is becoming the de facto digital experience assurance solution across Cisco products and beyond, helping customers deliver excellent digital experiences. Beyond the tech talk, Joe also discusses his passion for family, the great outdoors, and a lot more. 

AB sits down with Denise Lee, Cisco's VP Engineering Sustainability Office, for a great chat on a wide range of topics, from circular design to embedding sustainability principles into business practices to achieving overall sustainability goals. This is also a great conversation for anyone looking to explore the diversity within sustainability roles that exist at companies like Cisco. 

AB welcomes Adele Trombetta, Cisco's SVP and GM, Cisco CX EMEA, for a fun and spirited conversation on her passion for technology and her mission to create an extensive inclusive culture program in EMEA. From her days as a young mechanical engineer to her current role as a CX leader at Cisco, Adele's story is a perfect example of how even in an industry overwhelmingly dominated by men, being a woman AND a super successful tech leader at the same time is an achievable goal.

AB sits down with his friend and colleague Classye James to talk about the challenging shift many athletes face when moving from their sports careers to positions in the business sector. Serving as a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) Events & Activations Business Leader at Cisco, Classye is committed to developing tools that enable former athletes to work and thrive in corporate roles within organizations such as Cisco.

AB kicks off 2024 with a fun episode featuring Nick Biasini, Head of Outreach, Cisco Talos. This is a great conversation that highlights some of the top cyber threats from 2023, while looking to what the trends in cybersecurity may be in 2024, from AI to ransomware to social engineering, and more. AB also presses Nick on his passion and commitment to making the best cup of coffee possible. Check it out!

AB sits down for a fantastic chat with Gloria Goins, Cisco's Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer. This fun conversation dives into what DEI really means and highlights how Gloria and her team are working hard to drive Cisco's DEI strategy by fostering inclusive communities and promoting equity. Some of the great topics discussed include Gloria's extensive legal background and how that  has served her as a DEI lead; the importance of wellness as a driver of inclusion; why it's so important to communicate effectively and have courageous conversations; and more. 

AB sits down with Cisco's EVP and Chief Customer and Partner Officer, Jeff Sharritts, for a great talk on the evolving dynamics between sales and the partner ecosystem.  Jeff also dives into other topics such as what it means to be an effective leader, the importance of diversity to fostering company culture and driving better business outcomes, Cisco's use of AI to improve customer experiences, and much more.

Join AB as he chats with two incredibly influential cybersecurity minds in the industry, Dr. Magda Chelly and David Bombal. This fun, spirited, and engaging conversation explores the life journeys of each guest and covers a wide range of cybersecurity topics including AI, the importance of diversity within cybersecurity, how to better prepare for a cybersecurity career, effective use of social media to market yourself, and so much more.

Great CX is all about building relationships and effective communication, and Cisco and Honeywell have formed an alliance that is taking Customer Experience to the next level. Join AB as he sits down with Harry Caldwell, SVP, and General Manager, Cisco Customer Experience (CX), Americas, and Ali Alsaadawi, Lead Enterprise Architect, Honeywell, to discuss how the strong  alliance between both companies is driving incredible CX outcomes.

Join AB as he welcomes Jonathan Davidson, Cisco's EVP and General Manager, Cisco Networking, for a fascinating chat on life, leadership, and secretly being Tom Hanks? This unexpected conversation touches on the criticality of connectivity in the next era, Sci-Fi visions, and the need for failure, vulnerability, and choice for a trailblazing legacy.

When it comes to battling cybersecurity attackers, Lurene Grenier is all about offense. As Director of Security Architecture at Cisco Talos, she has spent her career analyzing state-sponsored actor trends, writing detection to block those threat actors, and in general, educating users and administrators on how to deploy the most robust security solutions. Lurene joins AB for a great conversation on a variety of topics, from offensive security to infrastructure vulnerabilities to her passion for playing guitar.

As April is Earth Month,  who better to have as a guest than Mary de Wysocki, Cisco's very own Chief Sustainability Officer. Mary sits down with AB to chat about her role in leading Cisco's sustainability efforts and how we need to work together on a global level to create more sustainable and resilient communities.

AB sits down with Tazin “Taz” Khan for an engaging, friendly chat around a variety of topics ranging from diversity of roles in cybersecurity to ethics and privacy to what it means to be resilient as a woman in the tech industry. Taz shares her transition from retail worker to cybersecurity specialist, and she gives great insight into what excites her the most about the work she does at Cisco and beyond. 

In celebration of Black History Month and all things Social Justice, AB sits down for a great chat with Brian Tippens, Cisco's SVP and Chief Social Impact Officer. A seasoned tech leader with a history of serving in purpose-driven roles, Brian shares his passion for giving back to underserved communities, the importance of driving purpose as a business priority, and highlights how Cisco's comprehensive approach to cultivating a diverse workforce and the deliberate efforts for equality across the tech industry is not only a force for good inside our company but also in the communities where we live and serve. He shares how purpose is more than a company's CSR initiatives, or social and environmental investments, or a desire to do good in the world; purpose is directly tied to economic performance, competitive advantage, and long-term value creation.

Alexandra Zagury and Amit Dhingra chat with AB about how Cisco's managed & as-a-service platforms help boost businesses' speed, agility, and scale with adaptable, on-demand solutions. 

In celebration of Cisco Networking Academy's 25th Anniversary, AB sits down with Laura Quintana, Vice President of Corporate Affairs and General Manager of Networking Academy, and Lorenzo Garth, Systems Engineering Manager at Cisco Meraki who made his way to Cisco through our Networking Academy. This is a fun and informative conversation that touches on a variety of topics, from misconceptions about what it takes to thrive in an IT career to how programs like NetAcad are helping shape the cybersecurity workforce of the future. 

In this episode of TechBeat, AB welcomes Oswaldo Mestre, Jr., Director of Citizen Services and Chief Services Officer for the City of Buffalo, New York. Oz, as he's known affectionately to friends and colleagues, leads a team that oversees a wide range of services to the residents of Buffalo. He has been globally recognized for his work on the 311 Call & Resolution Center and the unique collaboration between Cisco and the University of Buffalo to maintain continuity of citizen services during the COVID pandemic—and to elevate them as we move beyond it. As a seasoned Cisco customer, Oz has been a leading voice and proponent of the democratization of citizen services. Tune in for a fun, engaging, and insightful conversation.

AB connects with Jeetu Patel, Cisco's EVP & GM, Security and Collaboration Business Units. He leads Cisco's SaaS business and strategy to further accelerate the company's transformation and growth. Jeetu and AB discuss security resiliency, eliminating the security poverty line, Cisco Security Cloud, and a range of other topics that give insight into Jeetu's role at Cisco and life beyond the office.

In this episode, AB sits down for an engaging discussion with Thimaya Subaiya, Cisco's SVP, Chief Customer Experience Officer, who shares the hallmarks of a great customer experience and why he believes that consistency is key in every customer interface. Subaiya also discusses what's top of mind as he looks to the future of CX; the importance of allyship to his team's success; and why building furniture helps him relax and connect with his daughters.

Vijoy Pandey is Cisco's Vice President of the Emerging Technologies and Incubation group, a team of cross-disciplinary professionals committed to driving the next bold bets for Cisco business. Throughout this fun and informative conversation, Vijoy reveals the process his team goes through to not only sustain innovation but disrupt it to unlock new areas of research and expand ventures.

AB connects with JP Vasseur, Cisco Fellow (VP), Head of Engineering, for a chat about Predictive Networks, an exciting technology that aims to predict and proactively avoid network issues to ensure the best possible customer experience. Beyond the tech talk, AB and JP discuss topics ranging from their shared love of music to the future of young, aspiring engineers.

Off the heels of the Explore Security 2022 Virtual Summit, AB sat down with Janey Hoe, Vice President Corporate Development and Cisco Investments, and Dug Song, Chief Strategy Officer, Cisco Security, for a candid and insightful conversation into cybersecurity trends ranging from investment and acquisitions to innovation, all with a focus on achieving Cisco's mission to power a more inclusive future for all.

In this kick-off episode for Season 3 of TechBeat, AB sits down for a chat with Liz Centoni, Cisco's very own EVP, Chief Strategy Officer and GM, Applications, who has a passion for innovation, customer experience, and technology. Liz gives great insight into her childhood; who her greatest influencers were; experiences that led her to join Cisco over 20 years ago; and why she still remains passionate about the work she and her team at Cisco do every day.

Maulie Dass, the Senior Director of Cisco's Global Innovation Labs, uses her passion for technology and product design to fuel important changes to promote inclusivity for all. Hear how Maulie's upbringing laid the foundation for her activism and learn about the ways she's bringing inclusivity into Cisco products and ideas.

Craig Williams, the Director of Outreach for Cisco Talos has spent his career educating people on cybersecurity and rooting out the bad actors on the internet. In recent weeks, the Kaseya supply chain attack has dominated headlines, and for good reason. Craig talks about this latest attack, what's different about it, and how businesses and organizations can take extra precautions to protect themselves. 

ThousandEyes Co-founder Mohit Lad never intended to be an entrepreneur, but when his Plan A and Plan B didn’t pan out, he took a calculated risk to start a company that he describes as the Google maps of the internet. Hear how ThousandEyes, which Cisco recently acquired, gives companies more visibility than ever.

Dr. Oscar Rico, the Executive Director of Technology Services at Canutillo Independent School District in El Paso, Texas explains how Cisco technology helped bridge the digital divide in his community and power an inclusive recovery. 

Amit Chetal saw first-hand how difficult it was for his parents to sign up for vaccines, and quickly realized Cisco technology had the potential to make it an easier process. As the Retail Lead in Cisco’s Americas Industry Sales Organization, he gives us unique insight into the role technology plays in an inclusive recovery.

Linda Tong, the General Manager of AppDynamics which is part of Cisco, didn’t originally set out to work in tech, but she’s all in now. Hear how her diverse background, which includes a stint at the NFL, ultimately led her to AppD, and why she’s so excited about the new Cisco Secure Application.

Cisco’s Chief Privacy Officer, Harvey Jang explains how he went from working in a huge law firm to pivoting to a career in data privacy, and how the pandemic has shown just how important it is to protect people’s information.

Daniel Stewart, Cisco’s Senior Advisor for State and Local Governments, has a life story that is truly unbelievable and inspirational. After living for a time on the streets addicted to drugs and alcohol, he turned his life around as a mayor and leading the New York State prison system, before coming to Cisco. Hear how he uses his life experiences to build a connected justice program.

Learn from influencers and technology executives how SASE is combining cloud security and SD-WAN to support the dynamic secure access needs of digital enterprises, and the factors driving adoption.

Today, security is critical not just for large enterprises, but also small businesses, the public sector, and individuals of every race, gender, age, religion, and culture, in the developing and developed world alike. On this episode of TechBeat, we explore the intersection of cybersecurity and inclusion with Cisco’s Global Lead for Inclusion, Trey Boynton, and Cisco security experts Dug Song, Lothar Renner, Kerry Singleton and Alejandra Hernandez-Montaño.

Scaling an Everest peak and running a small business in a competitive, ever-changing market aren’t entirely different. Both demand speed, agility, and fast, informed decision-making. In this podcast, Cisco TechBeat host Kevin Delaney speaks with Benedikt Bohm, a record-breaking climber who is also the CEO of Dynafit, a maker of high-end mountaineering and skiing gear. Additional insights on the power of digitalization are shared by Bidhan Roy, Cisco’s Managing Director and Head of Commercial and Small Business for Asia Pacific, Japan, and China; and Carlos Torales, Managing Sales Director for Small and Medium Business in the Latin America region. Additional information: The 2020 Small Business Digital Maturity Study, an IDC report commissioned by Cisco. http://cs.co/9009GtAeV

In this podcast, host Kevin Delaney explores the future of education technology aimed at keeping students motivated, teachers empowered, and parents sane — with expert advice from Christine Olmstead, Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services at the Orange County Department of Education and Mary Schlegelmilch, a former teacher and school administrator who is now Cisco’s U.S. Public Sector Education Advisor.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, digital connections were indispensable — for education, social interactions, telemedicine, business continuity and so much more. But in places where connectivity is limited, the challenges and tragedies of the pandemic were only heightened. This was especially true in Native American communities across America, where infection rates soared, economic opportunity fell, and, for many, isolation deepened. In this podcast, Cisco TechBeat host Kevin Delaney speaks with Traci Morris, Director of the American Indian Policy Institute at Arizona State University. A proud member of the Chickasaw Nation, Dr. Morris has studied the impact of the digital divide in Indian country. Additional insights come from Emma Broadbent, of Cisco’s Networking Academy, about her efforts to build tech skills among the indigenous peoples of Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea. Together, they provide some real-world solutions that will help to unleash the creativity, wisdom, and entrepreneurial spirit of indigenous communities around the world.

Digital technologies have all but kept the world running through the Covid-19 pandemic. But it’s not just technology per se. Outstanding leadership and trusted partnerships enable cities and organizations to pivot quickly to meet big challenges with digital innovations. Take Turin, Italy. In this podcast, Cisco Techbeat host Kevin Delaney speaks with the technology analyst Rob Enderlee, and Dr. Guy Diedrich, global innovation officer for Cisco and leader of the company’s country digital acceleration program, or CDA — with additional insights from Agostino Santoni, Cisco Italy's Country Manager. Together they share the story of a city — and a Cisco technology partnership — that prevailed against some of the biggest challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic is driving rapid transformation and major challenges. But the best CIOs have been there every step of the way, to guide organizations, scale fast, and implement new technologies and solutions. But even for the most strategic CIOs, it hasn’t been easy. In this podcast, Cisco Techbeat host Kevin Delaney highlights some key insights from a CIO Roundtable discussion from Cisco Live this week, Cisco’s premier education and training event for IT professionals. Moderated by Michael Krigsman, an industry analyst and host of CxOTalk, the original discussion — “CIO Perspectives: 2020” — brought together three top CIOs: Abhijit Mazumder of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS); Phillip Knutel of Babson College; and Jacqui Guichelaar, senior vice president and CIO of Cisco. In a free-ranging discussion available on the IT Leadership Channel, they shared their recent challenges, top priorities, and key insights about the new rising challenges facing CIOs today — along with their thoughts on the elevated status of the CIO role.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has stressed, apps need to be created, deployed, and updated faster than ever before. But without knowing it, many developers are building in security flaws at the earliest stages of coding. Pieter Danhieux, CEO of Secure Code Warrior, an Australian DevSecOps startup, is determined to change all that. In this podcast and article, Pieter speaks with Cisco Techbeat host Kevin Delaney about his efforts to bring security awareness and strategy to developers everywhere.

Analyst Patrick Moorhead has spent decades studying the impact of technology on life and work. So, without minimizing the hardships of the global pandemic, he’s fascinated with the reality of millions around the world abandoning their workplaces to collaborate remotely. In this “new normal,” technology is key. And getting it right is critical. That means collaboration tools with end-to-end security and the flexibility to meet any kind of creative situation. In conversation with Cisco TechBeat’s Kevin Delaney, Moorhead examines the essential elements for the collaboration tools that keep the world working, learning, and healing. Listen in as he lays out the case for no-compromise collaboration that enables data privacy, business continuity, and ongoing innovation — whatever the challenges.

In this episode of Cisco TechBeat, Kevin Delaney speaks with Tae Yoo, Cisco's Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, about how the private sector can step up to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The conversation touches on the impacts of working and learning from home and addresses the responsibility of businesses to support their employees, communities, and societies. The digital divide is a particular concern for Yoo, and she discusses how closing the divide will positively impact people, society and the planet, ultimately powering an Inclusive Future.

Cisco's CIO on managing IT in challenging times “If there’s anything this pandemic has taught us,” said Cisco CIO Jacqueline Guichelaar, “it's how important technology is. Technology is the connector. It's what allows the world to continue to function as we all navigate through this situation.” Not that it’s been easy. Guichelaar oversaw the scaling of Cisco’s own remote working capacity from 20 percent of the workforce to 100 percent — all in a matter of days. “Despite the fact that we have a killer network and robust security,” she said, “it was still really hard.” So, she relates strongly to the challenges facing other technology leaders in this unprecedented time. In Part Two of our remote work podcast, Guichelaar discusses everything from network and security issues to maintaining the all-important human connection under stressful conditions. In case you missed Part One of our series, we focused on remote management and communications strategies with Mika Cross of FlexJobs and Cisco CIO Stella Low. See also: The Perfect Meeting: It's Not Just a Myth Listen in to hear how Cisco is managing “collaboration without compromise” with a keen eye on security and privacy. And read the full article accompanying this podcast here. See also: CIO Insights with Jacqui Guichelaar Episode #1