Networking giant Cisco has appointed Indian American Industrial AI veteran Girish Rishi to its board of directors.
Headquartered in San Jose, California, Cisco specializes in secure enterprise networking, cloud solutions, cybersecurity, and data center infrastructure designed to help organizations connect, protect, and scale operations.
As global enterprises increasingly race to adopt machine learning and artificial intelligence, Cisco has centered its corporate strategy on delivering secure, resilient, and AI-ready infrastructure to support complex workloads.
The apointment of Rishi brings nearly 30 years of executive experience across hardware, software, and systems to Cisco’s leadership team. Chuck Robbins, Chair and CEO of Cisco, emphasized the value of Rishi’s background in helping complex industries harness data assets.
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“He has helped many of the world’s most complex organizations and industries harness the power of data and AI,” Robbins said. “His expertise will be invaluable as Cisco provides organizations around the world with the critical infrastructure required to lead in the AI era.”
Rishi currently serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cognite, an industrial AI company that assists energy and industrial organizations in turning raw data into actionable insights.
He is also a Senior Advisor to Blackstone. Prior to leading Cognite, Rishi was the Chief Executive Officer of Blue Yonder, a supply chain management software and consulting firm.
His extensive leadership history also includes executive roles at Tyco International, Zebra Technologies, Motorola Solutions, and Symbol Technologies, where he served commercial and government sectors alike.
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“Every organization is racing to turn its data into a competitive advantage with AI, and that depends on secure, resilient infrastructure, which is exactly what Cisco delivers,” Rishi said. “I’m honored to join Cisco’s board and look forward to working with Chuck and the team as the company continues to help customers unlock the full potential of AI.”
In addition to his role at Cisco, Rishi has served on the board of directors of Insight Enterprises since 2017 and previously sat on the board of Digi International. His professional affiliations also include membership in the Council on Foreign Relations and service as an executive board member of the Arizona Commerce Authority.
Rishi holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Mumbai, an MBA from the University of Hartford, and a master’s degree in public policy from Johns Hopkins University.