Cisco Systems Inc

Cisco helps seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the unconnected. An integral part of our DNA is creating long-lasting customer partnerships, working together to identify our customers' needs and provide solutions that fuel their success.

We have preserved this keen focus on solving business challenges since our founding in 1984. Len Bosack and wife Sandy Lerner, both working for Stanford University, wanted to email each other from their respective offices, but technological shortcomings did not allow such communication. A technology had to be invented to deal with disparate local area protocols, and as a result of solving their challenge, the multiprotocol router was born.

The Government Affairs team defends and advances Cisco’s business interests before policymakers around the world, and builds relationships with senior government leaders. Led by Michael Timmeny, Government Affairs contributes substantively to public policy decisions at a global, national, and local level, focusing on public policies that impact Cisco, our partners, and our customers.

Government Affairs also builds relationships with government leaders worldwide to promote Cisco as a technology expert and a thought leader in the technology sector. The team is composed of former public officials, both elected and appointed, as well as seasoned government affairs professionals. The Government Affairs organization reports directly to Chuck Robbins, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cisco.

We support policies that open markets for technology products and services, lower prices, increase choice, and promote innovation. Promoting and enforcing trade agreements is important to encouraging innovation and investments that spur economic growth and competitiveness.

Cisco advocates for national tax policies that promote investment, encourage job creation, and incentivize innovation while also being consistent with existing global approaches to taxation. Cisco supports immigration policies that promote innovation by accelerating economic growth, encouraging hiring, and creating a highly skilled workforce. Reforming the immigration system in the U.S. will enable businesses to compete more effectively in the global marketplace.

Effective policies for cybersecurity risk management are foundational to Cisco’s efforts to securely connect consumers, businesses, and governments. In an interconnected world, smart policies will protect security in a dynamic threat environment while fueling economic growth and innovation.

Society is becoming more connected, and devices are getting more intelligent. We need to harness the power of intuitive networks--powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence--to provide visibility and control over devices that may be unable to protect themselves against attack. Policies that promote network investment foster networks that can keep pace with rising consumer demand for data. For wireless, governments control access to a key input--radio spectrum--and therefore must make spectrum available for growth and new technologies.

Cisco supports balanced intellectual property rules that incentivize innovation while also reducing the threat of unnecessary and harmful litigation. Cisco has always supported an open Internet. Ensuring that regulations are developed in a way that incentivizes network investment is essential to allowing continued innovation and flexibility to develop new business models.