Celebrating Innovation at Cisco

Last week, our executive leadership team and more than a hundred leaders and innovators gathered to celebrate the highest levels of engineering and product achievement at Cisco: The Pinnacle Awards. The night was an ode to?bold ideas, relentless pursuit, collaboration, and countless hours of hard work. I am still buzzing.?

The (Perfect) Setting

When Hitesh Saijpal and I started chatting about an in-person celebration, we wanted to choose a venue that captured the spirit of the occasion.?We chose The Palace of Fine Arts, which is stunning?and?symbolic. It was?designed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, and stands as a reminder that innovation can be a creative force to bring about profound change and shape the future.?How fitting.??

Infinite ways to Innovate

Of course, there are infinite ways to innovate, and trying to compare innovations that solve wildly different (and equally important) problems is impossible. So, in the spirit of being inclusive and recognizing more contributions, we created three categories and selected two winners in each.?

1. ?Strategic Impact: Innovation that has enabled Cisco to move into new markets. ?
2. ?Market Impact: Innovation that has transformed markets where Cisco currently plays.
3. Velocity Impact: Innovation that has allowed Cisco or our customers to move faster and get value sooner. ?

This year we had a record number of submissions. And behind each one lies a team of passionate individuals, mentors, collaborators, and supporters who have fueled the fires of creativity. Our judges had their work cut out for them, and I’m delighted. Because this volume speaks to the amazing work that is happening at Cisco every day.?

Meaningful Impact

One of the things that brings me deep joy is when teammates share that winning a Pinnacle Award was one of their whole-career highlights. I hear it from teammates that have been with us for decades, and those whose careers have led them elsewhere. This work matters, and recognizing it matters, too.

I’m proud to have been able to honor the engineering and product communities that are propelling us forward as a company.??On behalf of Eyal Dagan , Maria Martinez , Jonathan Davidson , Jeetu Patel and myself (the co-sponsors of Pinnacle Awards), I’d like to express my deepest gratitude to all those who made this evening a reality.?

More to come,?

Liz