JL Valente

JL Valente leads product management in the Networking Experiences Team with direct responsibility for the enterprise routing, SD-WAN, and multi-cloud networking portfolio. In this role, he is globally responsible for product strategy, definition, and delivery. He is also the executive sponsor of a number of key service provider accounts. A highly respected industry veteran, Valente joined Cisco in 2013 as a software executive with 25 years of operating and leadership experience in building international software businesses. He is a technology advocate with intimate knowledge of the evolution of networking and information technology. At Cisco, he led the service provider network automation strategy including the acquisition of Tail-f, organized the initial 5G initiative including OpenvRAN, brought to market Cisco telco cloud and the first SDWAN aaS platform known as ngena. Previously, he led the product management of Cisco Cloud Platform and Solutions Group portfolio across network automation and cloud management. A sought-after industry speaker, he is often featured at venues such as Mobile World Congress, CTIA and many Cisco hosted events. Prior to Cisco he was President and CEO of blueKiwi, a social business startup, which was acquired by the IT service firm Atos to form the backbone of the Atos Zero eMail initiative. Before that, Valente was CEO of RiverMuse, an IT operations software company. He also held leadership positions at software companies including InfoVista, Viasoft (now ASG), and CA where he led regional and worldwide marketing for its information management division. He also spent a year as an entrepreneur in residence with Atlas Venture, where he focused on the wireless industry.