Cisco Adds Cognite CEO Girish Rishi to Its Board of Directors

Who is joining the board

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) said Rishi brings three decades of technology leadership to the board, with expertise across data and AI, product development, supply chain and M&A. He has led technology businesses across hardware, software and systems.

Rishi is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cognite, which Cisco describes as a leading industrial AI company that helps energy and industrial organizations turn their data into actionable insights. He is also a Senior Advisor to Blackstone.

Before Cognite, he was Chief Executive Officer of Blue Yonder, a provider of supply chain management software and consulting services. He previously held executive leadership positions at Tyco International, Zebra Technologies, Motorola Solutions and Symbol Technologies, where he served customers in the government and commercial sectors.

What Cisco and Rishi said

Chuck Robbins, Chair and CEO of Cisco, welcomed the appointment. "He has helped many of the world's most complex organizations and industries harness the power of data and AI," Robbins said. He added that Rishi's expertise "will be invaluable as Cisco provides organizations around the world with the critical infrastructure required to lead in the AI era."

Rishi tied his arrival to the company's infrastructure role. "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," he said. He said he looks forward to working with Robbins and the team as Cisco continues to help customers unlock the full potential of AI.

Other roles and background

Beyond Cisco, Rishi serves on the board of directors of Insight Enterprises, where he has been a director since 2017. He previously served on the board of Digi International.

• Member of the Council on Foreign Relations
• Executive board member of the Arizona Commerce Authority
• Master's degree in public policy from Johns Hopkins University
• MBA from the University of Hartford
• Undergraduate degree from the University of Mumbai

What it means

The appointment adds a chief executive with experience in industrial AI and supply chain software to the board of a company that positions itself around the AI era. Based on the statements from Cisco and Rishi, the board addition reflects the company's focus on providing infrastructure for customers that want to use their data with AI. The announcement does not describe any changes to Cisco's products, strategy or board size.