John P. Morgridge is chairman emeritus of Cisco. John joined Cisco in 1988 as president and chief executive officer, and grew the company from $5 million to more than $1 billion in sales, and from 34 to more than 2,250 employees. In 1990, he took Cisco public, in 1995 he was appointed chairman, and in 2006 he became chairman emeritus.

John helped set the culture of Cisco as one of innovation, empowerment, frugality, and giving back. As chairman emeritus, he continues to champion a range of education and corporate citizenship initiatives, and he is a guiding force behind the company’s long-term commitment to focus on basic human needs, responsible citizenship, and access to education.

John speaks frequently about philanthropy, strategic management and principled leadership, entrepreneurship, and how education and technology can fuel economic and societal development throughout the world. He teaches management at Stanford Graduate School of Business and the University of Wisconsin. He is co-director of Stanford Leadership Academy for senior staff and faculty. In 1996 he received the school’s Arbuckle Award for excellence in management leadership; in 2008 he received the Gold Spike; and in 2016 he and his wife, Tashia, were named Uncommon Man and Uncommon Woman, Stanford University’s highest award.

Prior to taking the helm at Cisco, John was president and chief operating officer of GRiD Systems, and before that he held senior positions with Stratus Computer and Honeywell Information Systems.

John actively supports a range of education, conservation, and human services initiatives. He is co-chair of the Fund for Wisconsin Scholars and serves on the boards of the Asia/Pacific Council of The Nature Conservancy, Cisco Foundation, Morgridge Institute for Research, TOSA Foundation, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, and Wisconsin Technology Initiative.