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Alex Goryachev

Senior Director, Innovation Strategy & Programs

Corporate Strategic Innovation Group

Alex Goryachev is an entrepreneurial go-getter. He takes risks, thinks ahead, and loves making way for new innovations. Over the past 20 years, he’s made it his business to turn disruptive concepts into emerging business models.

For him, it’s all about a passion to create a strategy and then drive it home to “get things done.” And as Cisco’s Senior Director of Innovation Strategy and Programs, he has plenty of opportunities to put this passion to the test.

He sparks internal innovation by providing employees at all levels the chance to share their big ideas, many of which make their way into the company’s innovation engine. Alex also carries the torch for co-innovation across Cisco’s ecosystem.

He’s especially excited about Cisco's Innovation Centers, which can be found in major cities around the world. Led by Alex, these hubs bring together customers, partners, startups, accelerators, governments, research communities, and universities in a lab setting. Their goal is to discover, develop, and implement game-changing, outcome-based solutions.

He also heads up the Cisco Innovation Grand Challenges. These polished events help creative thinkers bring their technology ideas to life. And then there’s the Cisco Technology Radar, the company’s engine for identifying emerging technology transitions.

Alex began his Cisco journey in 2004 with a singular focus: Innovation. He defined and operationalized several high-profile Cisco initiatives, including the company’s Country Transformation plan for Cisco in emerging markets. He also held senior roles in Development, Marketing, Finance, and Channels, providing him a 360 view of how a great company ticks.

Prior to Cisco, Alex was a successful consultant with extended assignments at Napster, Liquid Audio, IBM Global Services, and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.

Articles

September 24, 2018

INNOVATION

Hit the Gas on Co-Innovation

4 min read

It’s important to stay ahead of the pace of digital disruption and to do this we must work together. Co-developing ideas and solutions in an openly collaborative environment is key to successfully innovate.

September 17, 2018

INNOVATION

Free Employees to Tap into Their Inner Entrepreneurs

4 min read

Innovation takes a village and communicators can help build it by turning employees from all levels into inspired entrepreneurs.

September 11, 2018

INNOVATION

Ignite a Startup Culture Within Your Enterprise

5 min read

How can we compete in an age of disruption? Unleash the innovative nature that is within your employees while maintaining the scalability of your organization.

October 16, 2017

2

INNOVATION

Converging Hyper Co-Innovation Inside and Outside a Big Company

6 min read

How can companies keep up with the speed of digitization? Here is a proven three-part plan that harnesses innovation best practices from customers, partners, and employees.

September 13, 2017

2

INNOVATION

Cisco’s Startup Revolution Gains Force with 2nd Innovate Everywhere Challenge Winners

5 min read

How do employees become intrapreneurs? Cisco's Innovate Everywhere Challenge holds the key that unlocks passionate ideas to discover winning game changers.

September 6, 2017

2

INNOVATION

Employees Power Up Cisco’s Innovation Engine

4 min read

Cisco's new 'Attitudes of Innovation' program encourages employees to discover and nurture their inner innovator.

February 7, 2017

INNOVATION

Cisco Live! Berlin: A Festival of Opportunity to Co-Innovate

3 min read

A festival of opportunity to co-create with startups presents itself at Cisco Live! Berlin, Feb. 20-24

January 31, 2017

5

INNOVATION

Ten Predictions on How Innovation Will Disrupt Business and Culture in 2017

4 min read

How will companies and our culture be influenced by innovation disruption in 2017? Learn 10 predictions from Alex Goryachev.

January 27, 2017

3

INNOVATION

A Tale of Two Companies: One Kit, Multiple Innovations

6 min read

Our internal innovation programs got 3 Gold Excellence Awards from Brandon Hall Group. How and why? Learn with Alex Goryachev.

November 9, 2016

2

INNOVATION

Innovation Grand Challenge Winners Showcase Diversity of Digital Solutions for Industry and Government

4 min read

Amid more than 50,000 global innovators at this week’s Web Summit in Lisbon, three emerged victorious in our third annual Innovation Grand Challenge.

October 25, 2016

3

INNOVATION

Six Digital Disruptors Emerge as Finalists in Global Innovation Grand Challenge 2016

3 min read

Six superstar startups rose to the top of the Innovation Grand Challenge_Ski Solution competition launched last May.

October 11, 2016

INNOVATION

Building Blocks to Create Your Own Successful Internal Innovation Programs

4 min read

Since I started this blog series about corporate innovation and intrapreneurship, readers often ask which of my nine building blocks is most essential to mobilize an innovation disruption across an entire company. Which is the cornerstone?  Which carries the most weight? Which is most disruptive? Which impacts cultural transformation? Which turns employees into entrepreneurs? My […]

September 29, 2016

INNOVATION

Building Blocks for Your Own Innovation Disruption (Part 3)

5 min read

Are you ready? It’s time to complete the foundation and launch your own innovation disruption—companywide. This is the last of my three-part series. I lay out the final three building blocks needed to shake up bureaucracies and turn them into startup-like cultures. To transform employees into entrepreneurs. To fire up innovation. And to jumpstart disruptive, […]

September 27, 2016

7

INNOVATION

15 Digital Disruptors: Announcing this year’s Innovation Grand Challenge Semifinalists

3 min read

Cisco proudly announces 15 Semi-finalists of the Innovation Grand Challenge

August 25, 2016

3

INNOVATION

Pokémon Go: 5 Innovation Lessons from this Augmented Reality Check

4 min read

Whether Pokémon Go is a fad or new franchise, the social phenomenon shows how to spot, adapt, and lead market transitions.

August 18, 2016

2

INNOVATION

Interview w/ Alex Goryachev, the Mastermind behind Cisco’s Grandest Innovation Challenge

9 min read

NOTE: The  conversation below on how to ignite innovation first appeared on the web site of TeskaLabs, a Europe-based security startup selected to join the IDEALondon program, powered by Cisco, DJ Thomson and University College of London. A big thanks to Cindy Dam, TeskaLab’s marketing and community manager, for permission to re-post her Q&A blog. […]

August 11, 2016

2

INNOVATION

Building Blocks for an Innovation Disruption (Part 2)

6 min read

Thomas Edison once said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.” Yet even today, when there’s never been a better time to innovate, many still believe that all you need is the next brilliant idea to disrupt markets. Wrong. In today’s digital world, innovation takes as much perspiration, preparation and process as ever. […]

August 9, 2016

2

INNOVATION

Innovation never stops, but entries for the 2016 Innovation Grand Challenge do

3 min read

Don't miss the August 31 entry deadline for the Innovation Grand Challenge 2016! #CIGC16