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When it comes to battling cybersecurity attackers, Lurene Grenier is all about offense. As Director of Security Architecture at Cisco Talos, she has spent her career analyzing state-sponsored actor trends, writing detection to block those threat actors, and in general, educating users and administrators on how to deploy the most robust security solutions. Lurene joins AB for a great conversation on a variety of topics, from offensive security to infrastructure vulnerabilities to her passion for playing guitar.

As April is Earth Month,  who better to have as a guest than Mary de Wysocki, Cisco's very own Chief Sustainability Officer. Mary sits down with AB to chat about her role in leading Cisco’s sustainability efforts and how we need to work together on a global level to create more sustainable and resilient communities.

AB sits down with Tazin “Taz” Khan for an engaging, friendly chat around a variety of topics ranging from diversity of roles in cybersecurity to ethics and privacy to what it means to be resilient as a woman in the tech industry. Taz shares her transition from retail worker to cybersecurity specialist, and she gives great insight into what excites her the most about the work she does at Cisco and beyond. 

In celebration of Black History Month and all things Social Justice, AB sits down for a great chat with Brian Tippens, Cisco's SVP and Chief Social Impact Officer. A seasoned tech leader with a history of serving in purpose-driven roles, Brian shares his passion for giving back to underserved communities, the importance of driving purpose as a business priority, and highlights how Cisco's comprehensive approach to cultivating a diverse workforce and the deliberate efforts for equality across the tech industry is not only a force for good inside our company but also in the communities where we live and serve. He shares how purpose is more than a company's CSR initiatives, or social and environmental investments, or a desire to do good in the world; purpose is directly tied to economic performance, competitive advantage, and long-term value creation.

Alexandra Zagury and Amit Dhingra chat with AB about how Cisco’s managed & as-a-service platforms help boost businesses’ speed, agility, and scale with adaptable, on-demand solutions. 

In celebration of Cisco Networking Academy’s 25th Anniversary, AB sits down with Laura Quintana, Vice President of Corporate Affairs and General Manager of Networking Academy, and Lorenzo Garth, Systems Engineering Manager at Cisco Meraki who made his way to Cisco through our Networking Academy. This is a fun and informative conversation that touches on a variety of topics, from misconceptions about what it takes to thrive in an IT career to how programs like NetAcad are helping shape the cybersecurity workforce of the future. 

In this episode of TechBeat, AB welcomes Oswaldo Mestre, Jr., Director of Citizen Services and Chief Services Officer for the City of Buffalo, New York. Oz, as he’s known affectionately to friends and colleagues, leads a team that oversees a wide range of services to the residents of Buffalo. He has been globally recognized for his work on the 311 Call & Resolution Center and the unique collaboration between Cisco and the University of Buffalo to maintain continuity of citizen services during the COVID pandemic—and to elevate them as we move beyond it. As a seasoned Cisco customer, Oz has been a leading voice and proponent of the democratization of citizen services. Tune in for a fun, engaging, and insightful conversation.

AB connects with Jeetu Patel, Cisco’s EVP & GM, Security and Collaboration Business Units. He leads Cisco's SaaS business and strategy to further accelerate the company's transformation and growth. Jeetu and AB discuss security resiliency, eliminating the security poverty line, Cisco Security Cloud, and a range of other topics that give insight into Jeetu’s role at Cisco and life beyond the office.

In this episode, AB sits down for an engaging discussion with Thimaya Subaiya, Cisco’s SVP, Chief Customer Experience Officer, who shares the hallmarks of a great customer experience and why he believes that consistency is key in every customer interface. Subaiya also discusses what’s top of mind as he looks to the future of CX; the importance of allyship to his team's success; and why building furniture helps him relax and connect with his daughters.

Vijoy Pandey is Cisco’s Vice President of the Emerging Technologies and Incubation group, a team of cross-disciplinary professionals committed to driving the next bold bets for Cisco business. Throughout this fun and informative conversation, Vijoy reveals the process his team goes through to not only sustain innovation but disrupt it to unlock new areas of research and expand ventures.

AB connects with JP Vasseur, Cisco Fellow (VP), Head of Engineering, for a chat about Predictive Networks, an exciting technology that aims to predict and proactively avoid network issues to ensure the best possible customer experience. Beyond the tech talk, AB and JP discuss topics ranging from their shared love of music to the future of young, aspiring engineers.

Off the heels of the Explore Security 2022 Virtual Summit, AB sat down with Janey Hoe, Vice President Corporate Development and Cisco Investments, and Dug Song, Chief Strategy Officer, Cisco Security, for a candid and insightful conversation into cybersecurity trends ranging from investment and acquisitions to innovation, all with a focus on achieving Cisco’s mission to power a more inclusive future for all.

In this kick-off episode for Season 3 of TechBeat, AB sits down for a chat with Liz Centoni, Cisco’s very own EVP, Chief Strategy Officer and GM, Applications, who has a passion for innovation, customer experience, and technology. Liz gives great insight into her childhood; who her greatest influencers were; experiences that led her to join Cisco over 20 years ago; and why she still remains passionate about the work she and her team at Cisco do every day.

Maulie Dass, the Senior Director of Cisco’s Global Innovation Labs, uses her passion for technology and product design to fuel important changes to promote inclusivity for all. Hear how Maulie’s upbringing laid the foundation for her activism and learn about the ways she’s bringing inclusivity into Cisco products and ideas.View the full transcript here: https://newsroom.cisco.com/feature-content?type=webcontent&articleId=2192203 

Craig Williams, the Director of Outreach for Cisco Talos has spent his career educating people on cybersecurity and rooting out the bad actors on the internet. In recent weeks, the Kaseya supply chain attack has dominated headlines, and for good reason. Craig talks about this latest attack, what’s different about it, and how businesses and organizations can take extra precautions to protect themselves. 

ThousandEyes Co-founder Mohit Lad never intended to be an entrepreneur, but when his Plan A and Plan B didn’t pan out, he took a calculated risk to start a company that he describes as the Google maps of the internet. Hear how ThousandEyes, which Cisco recently acquired, gives companies more visibility than ever.

Dr. Oscar Rico, the Executive Director of Technology Services at Canutillo Independent School District in El Paso, Texas explains how Cisco technology helped bridge the digital divide in his community and power an inclusive recovery. 

Amit Chetal saw first-hand how difficult it was for his parents to sign up for vaccines, and quickly realized Cisco technology had the potential to make it an easier process. As the Retail Lead in Cisco’s Americas Industry Sales Organization, he gives us unique insight into the role technology plays in an inclusive recovery.

Linda Tong, the General Manager of AppDynamics which is part of Cisco, didn’t originally set out to work in tech, but she’s all in now. Hear how her diverse background, which includes a stint at the NFL, ultimately led her to AppD, and why she’s so excited about the new Cisco Secure Application.

Cisco’s Chief Privacy Officer, Harvey Jang explains how he went from working in a huge law firm to pivoting to a career in data privacy, and how the pandemic has shown just how important it is to protect people’s information.