Chuck Robbins Explained
Charles H. Robbins (born 1965/1966) is an American businessman, and the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Cisco Systems.[1]
Early life
Robbins was born in Grayson, Georgia,[1] and educated at Rocky Mount High School in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.[2] In 1987 he earned a Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[1]
Career
Robbins began his career as an application developer for North Carolina National Bank (now part of Bank of America). He joined Wellfleet Communications followed by a brief tenure at Ascend Communications before joining Cisco in 1997.
Robbins filled various posts at Cisco, including senior vice president of the Americas and senior vice president of Worldwide Field Operations, a role in which he led Cisco's Worldwide Sales and Partner Organizations and built out Cisco's partnership program.[3] [4]
In May 2015, Cisco announced that CEO and chairman John Chambers would step down as CEO in July 2015 while remaining as chairman. Robbins, then a senior vice president, was named as his successor.[5] Mentored by Chambers, Robbins was unanimously voted in as the company's new chief executive, becoming CEO of Cisco Systems in July 2015.[6] [5] [7]
As CEO, Robbins became noted for accelerating the pace of Cisco's modern growth,[2] [8] while disrupting outdated working modes,[9] promoting employee trust based in transparency of policy and process,[10] and humanitarian policies and workplace diversity.[11] [12] [13]
In 2018, as the GDPR came into effect, Robbins called for more regulation and for the tech industry to help educate regulators. In February 2019, Robbins promoted the need for comprehensive global privacy legislation, asserting privacy as “a fundamental human right."[14]
Robbins advocated against a 15% increase on tariffs for Chinese goods.[15] [16] Robbins has advocated for corporate social responsibility. In March 2018, Cisco pledged to donate $50M to Destination: Home, an organization devoted to ending homelessness in Santa Clara County, where Cisco's headquarters is located. Robbins serves as honorary counsel to the NPO.[17]
Boards and affiliations
Robbins serves the World Economic Forum as the chair for the IT Governors Steering Committee and as a member of the International Business Council.[18] He is a member of the Ford Foundation board of trustees.[19] He is a director for BlackRock and for The Business Roundtable where he chairs the Immigration Committee.[20] [21]
In 2018, Robbins authored a statement on behalf of Business Roundtable that applauded bipartisan lawmakers working to reform immigration policies, while urging the White House “Administration to end immediately the policy of separating accompanied minors from their parents,” decrying the practice as “cruel and contrary to American values.”[22] [23]
Robbins spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 2016, 2017,[24] and 2018, and at the 2019 WEF annual general meeting.[25] [26]
He has been a board member of the MS Society of Northern California, a member of the Advisory Board of Georgia Tech,[18] and a member of the International Council for the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.[3] He is also a member of the 2019 class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[27]
Personal life
Robbins is a fan of North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball, participates in social media, and is noted for his humor.[4] He is married with four children and lives in Los Gatos, California.[1]
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Q&A: Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco Systems . 30 July 2015 . 14 July 2018.
- News: Brown. Bob. New Cisco CEO: Meet the real Chuck Robbins. https://web.archive.org/web/20150506041142/http://www.networkworld.com/article/2918164/router/new-cisco-ceo-meet-the-real-chuck-robbins.html. dead. May 6, 2015. 20 August 2015. Network World. 4 May 2015.
- News: The Path Forward: America’s Digital Infrastructure with Chuck Robbins, Chair & CEO, Cisco . 15 March 2024 . 16 June 2021.
- Web site: Chuck Robbins: 10 Things You Didn't Know about Cisco's CEO. Berman. Nat . 2016. MoneyInc.com. Money Inc.. 27 June 2019.
- News: Cisco's Chambers to step down as CEO, to be executive chairman. 4 May 2015. 20 August 2015. Reuters.
- Book: Frangos, Cassandra . 2018 . Crack the C-Suite Code: How Successful Leaders Make It to the Top . Wharton Digital Press . 9–17 . 9781613630853 .
- News: Weinberger . Matt . Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins tells us how he led the $200 billion company to growth when everybody expected it to get crushed in the cloud wars. Business insider. 19 January 2019. 27 June 2019.
- Web site: Poletti. Therese. Cisco is Chuck Robbins's company now, for better or worse. Market Watch. September 18, 2017. June 28, 2019.
- Web site: Frangos. Cassanda. Making Leadership Last: How Long-Tenure CEOs Stand Their Ground. Forbes . December 3, 2018. June 28, 2019.
- Web site: Chuck Robbins: How Cisco Brings Radical Transparency Into the Workplace . YouTube.com. LinkedIn . April 10, 2019. June 28, 2019.
- Web site: Robbins. Chuck. 10% of the world lives on $2 a day. It's time for businesses to step up. cnn.com. CNN . January 24, 2019. June 28, 2019.
- Web site: Shontell. Alyson. Cisco CEO reveals what happened at the 'interactive' Trump Tower tech meeting with Silicon Valley power players. BusinessInsider.com. Business Insider . January 18, 2017. June 28, 2019.
- Web site: Jenkins. Aric. Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins on Why Corporate Social Responsibility Is Becoming Obsolete. Fortune . October 15, 2018. June 28, 2019.
- Web site: Bort. Julie. Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins calls for a federal privacy law, throwing a spear at internet companies who sell advertising. BusinessInsider.com. 2019 Insider Inc. . February 7, 2019. June 28, 2019.
- Web site: Gmelich. Krista. Cisco CEO Warns Higher Tariffs Will Force Companies to Cut R&D. Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg LP . January 17, 2019 . June 28, 2019.
- Web site: Quick. Becky. Kernan. Andrew . Watch CNBC's full interview with Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins . CNBC.com. Squawk Box (CNBC) . February 8, 2019. June 28, 2019.
- Web site: Dickey. Megan Rose. Cisco commits $50 million to end homelessness in Silicon Valley. Techcrunch.com. Tech Crunch . March 26, 2018. June 28, 2019.
- Web site: Charles H. Robbins. WeForum.org. World Economic Forum . June 28, 2019.
- Web site: Charles H. Robbins. FordFoundation.org. Ford Foundation . June 28, 2019.
- News: Fuchs . Hailey . Cisco CEO named Business Roundtable chair . 15 March 2024 . 14 September 2023.
- News: Krouse . Joann S. Lublin and Sarah . Cisco’s CEO to Join BlackRock’s Board . 15 March 2024 . WSJ . 5 April 2017.
- News: Murray . Alan . 'This Is a Fundamental Issue:' Why Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins Challenged Trump on Border Separations . Fortune . June 20, 2019. June 27, 2019.
- Web site: Robbins . Chuck . Business Roundtable Statement on Immigration . June 19, 2019 . June 27, 2019.
- Web site: World Economic Forum Annual Meeting . WeForum.org. World Economic Forum . June 27, 2019.
- Web site: Bloomberg . Jason . 'Reskilling' Top Of Mind At World Economic Forum In Davos. Forbes . January 23, 2018 . June 27, 2019.
- Web site: Cisco CEO Robbins Sees 'High Degree of Optimism' Among CEOs . Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg . January 23, 2019 . June 27, 2019.
- Web site: American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2019 FELLOWS AND INTERNATIONAL HONORARY MEMBERS WITH THEIR AFFILIATIONS AT THE TIME OF ELECTION . June 28, 2019 . April 10, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190410034914/https://members.amacad.org/content/members/newFellows.aspx?s=a . dead .