My 20th Anniversary at Cisco

NEVER CROSSED MY MIND THAT I WOULD BE HERE FOR TWO DECADES, AND STILL GOING…

Twenty years ago, or should I say, 7,300 days ago, I joined Cisco. Back then, everything was different. I joined Cisco after leaving my previous job, at which I stayed less than five years, and that was the plan, to leave Cisco after five years. Little did I know that it would be 20 years, and I am still counting. I always wonder, what kept me here for this long? I can say without hesitation that what’s keeping me here is the people and the culture for the most part, and what is giving me the satisfaction and the fulfillment are, of course, the company mission and the impact we are making on the world.

Would you believe it if I told you that back then, there was a little over 360 million Internet users worldwide? The number of internet users worldwide, today, is more than 454,000 million. That is one thousand two hundred and sixty times (x1,260) increase. When I joined Cisco, we were well into the second Internet era, the e-commerce era. I never imagined that I would actually experience two more transformative evolutions, the social media and the IoT/Digital transformation eras. My initial plan was to stay for a few years at Cisco, yet here I am and still going strong. Twenty years later, I am still as passionate and as excited as anyone can be about our mission, culture, technology, and the future. There were many ups and downs during those years, yet the culture of Cisco never faltered; it’s always been focused on people, customers, and partners, despite all the challenges and market transitions.

From the dot com bubble burst to the COVID19 Pandemic, many risks & challenges, achievements & losses, triumphs & disappointments, dreams & realities, that is the beauty of this journey, and it will continue for some time. The people I befriended, the memories I made, the experiences I gained, all of that means the world to me, and will be with me forever. I have had the pleasure of working with many distinguished members of the industry and learning so much from them. Some of them are still here while other have moved on. Although I have been at the same company, I consider myself lucky enough to have had multiple careers within this journey; the journey that allowed me to move from a Systems Engineer to the regional Chief Technology Officer & Engineering Director.

There are countless achievements that I am very proud of throughout this journey. Moving from a young Systems Engineer, with a head full of black hair, and a mind full of ideas, to the CTO of the region, and yes, with my fair share of gray hairs. At Cisco, I have experienced working multiple careers in one career. There is no such thing as doing the same thing twice in this dynamic and progressive environment. I can easily say that every single day of the 7,300 days was a different day that was full of excitement, achievements, and many challenges. I have experienced many pathways and played out many roles all contributing to the knowledge and experience I own today. During my time here, I’ve come in contact with the most amazing people whom I’ve managed and learnt from, I’ve also learned lots from my amazing managers and leaders, I’ve published my first book, published an article at Harvard Business Review Arabia (HBR Arabia), and so many other milestones. The biggest impact on me was by my valued customers and partners, to whom I hold the highest regards. I could not have done all this without the exceptional team I have, and have been working with, as well as the great support of the leadership team, to which I owe many thanks.