Cisco officially appoints Girish Rishi to its board of directors, effective October 9, 2026. Rishi brings three decades of executive technology experience across hardware, software, and enterprise systems to Cisco. His deep expertise spans product development, supply chain optimization, data management, and strategic mergers and acquisitions. Consequently, Cisco strengthens its executive governance layer during a transformational period for global artificial intelligence infrastructure.
“I’m delighted to welcome Girish to Cisco’s board,” said Chuck Robbins, Chair and CEO of Cisco. “He has helped many of the world’s most complex organizations and industries harness the power of data and AI. His expertise will be invaluable as Cisco provides organizations around the world with the critical infrastructure required to lead in the AI era.”
Executive Leadership and Industry Background
Currently, Rishi serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cognite, a prominent industrial AI software firm. Cognite helps global energy and industrial clients turn raw operational data into actionable insights. Additionally, Rishi acts as a Senior Advisor to private equity firm Blackstone. Before Cognite, Rishi served as Chief Executive Officer at supply chain provider Blue Yonder. Earlier in his career, he held key leadership roles at Tyco International, Zebra Technologies, Motorola Solutions, and Symbol Technologies.
“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.”
Beyond his new role at Cisco, Rishi has sat on the board of directors at Insight Enterprises since 2017. Previously, he served on the corporate board of Digi International. Furthermore, Rishi remains an active member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an executive board member at the Arizona Commerce Authority. In his academic profile, he has a master’s degree in public policy from Johns Hopkins University, an MBA from the University of Hartford, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mumbai.
In conclusion, this move will help Cisco to extend its networking and cloud expertise throughout the world. Furthermore, Cisco is continuing to position itself as an important provider of secure AI systems throughout the globe.
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Source: PRNewswire
