Cisco TechBeat

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.