Alice Pollard

Alice Pollard is Chief of Staff for Cisco CHILL, an innovation catalyst that delivers growth-generating initiatives for Cisco and our customers. CHILL brings together an entire ecosystem of Cisco customers to drive co-innovation at unprecedented speed. An innovation leader with a passion for results, Alice has been part of the CHILL team since its inception and has helped drive the multi-party co-innovation business model. Alice is responsible for strategic business initiatives, oversees day-to-day personnel management, manages customer relations, and leads the delivery and execution of CHILL Living Lab experiences.

Thinking differently is part of Alice’s DNA. She thrives on incubating new ideas to solve big problems. Prior to Cisco CHILL, she led innovation workshops in Asia with Global 500 companies, driving innovation in both electronics and food—specifically one of her first loves, chocolate. Her expanded view of diversity—valuing and embracing the full spectrum of different ethnicities, genders, orientations, backgrounds, cultures, affiliations, abilities, work styles, and perspectives—has allowed her to tackle big problems in unique ways.

A true world citizen, Alice has lived in New Zealand, Singapore, India and Dubai since leaving her native Australia more than 10 years ago. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her current responsibilities, including a diverse background in food, real estate, recruitment, and marketing. In addition, Alice has committed herself to advocating for inclusion and social justice for all people both inside and outside the workplace. From volunteering in retirement homes to cooking nutrition bars for the poor in India, she believes in supporting the dignity of all people.

Alice delights in travelling and loves to experience—and taste—new cultures. She’s a foodie at heart and an aspiring home chef. She is also an avid cat lover and lives with Floyd Pink Pollard along with her husband in San Francisco.