John Chambers, chairman and CEO of San Jose-based networking giant Cisco, will speak at Haas at 12:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 28, in the Andersen Auditorium.
The event is part of the Dean’s Speaker Series, which invites distinguished leaders of businesses and other organizations to discuss leadership, management, and innovation with the Haas community. The talk is free and open to the entire Haas community. Registration is required.
Since joining Cisco in 1991, Chambers has helped the company grow from $70 million in sales to $40 billion today. He has led the tech powerhouse through dozens of acquisitions – more than 25 companies in just the past three years alone. After joining Cisco as senior vice president of worldwide sales and operations, Chambers became of president and CEO in 1995 and was named chairman of the board in 2006.
Chambers has been listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People,” Barron’s “World’s Best CEOs," BusinessWeek’s “Top 25 Executives Worldwide,” and 20/20’s “Best Boss in America.”
Chambers also has been recognized for his philanthropic work through Cisco, receiving one of the first four Clinton Global Citizen Awards from former President Bill Clinton in 2009, and the U.S. State Department’s top corporate social responsibility award from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. His philanthropic initiatives have included forming a public-private partnership to rebuild health care and education in earthquake-ravaged Sichuan, China; and spearheading the 21st Century Schools Initiative to improve educational opportunities for children in the Gulf Coast region affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Prior to joining Cisco, Chambers spent six years at Wang Laboratories and six years with IBM. He holds a law degree and a bachelor’s in business from West Virginia University and an MBA in finance and management from Indiana University.