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Rob Salvagno

Vice President

Corporate Development and Cisco Investments

In his role as VP of Corporate Development and Cisco Investments, Rob Salvagno is responsible for leading all M&A and venture capital investments for Cisco. He manages Cisco’s strategic venture capital which invests hundreds of millions of dollars annually in the start-up ecosystem, helping anticipate the next set of market transitions, align with disruptive technologies, gain visibility into key geographies, and partner for innovative solutions.

Since joining Cisco in 2001, Rob has challenged the traditional model of corporate development, implementing a holistic strategy to accentuate Cisco’s technology portfolio, instead of individual deals. He led the execution of the $1.2 billion acquisition of cloud networking leader Meraki, one of the most successful platform acquisitions in Cisco’s history, and the $3.7 billion acquisition of AppDynamics, cementing Cisco’s place in the business intelligence, analytics and IT operations market. Most recently, Rob engineered the $2.3 billion acquisition of Duo, the leading provider of unified access security and multi-factor authentication delivered through the cloud.

To optimize external innovation as a mechanism for Cisco’s growth, Rob pioneered the creation of Cisco Investments, one of the most active and entrepreneurial-focused models for corporate venture capital in the industry. He co-architected the spin-ins of Nuova Systems and Insieme, spurring Cisco’s growth in data center and software-defined networking, and led the formation of alpha projects to accelerate cross-company innovation. He also helped develop and accelerate new opportunities in China through the creation of several joint venture projects in the region.

Outside of Cisco, Rob serves as a board observer for Cohesity, an industry-leading enterprise storage company specializing in platforms for hyperconverged secondary storage solutions. Prior to Cisco, Rob was a technology investment banker at U.S. investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

Rob earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University.

Articles

December 16, 2019

EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire Exablaze

1 min read

Cisco announces intent to acquire Exablaze*, a privately held, Australia-based designer and manufacturer of advanced network devices aimed at reducing latency and improving network performance. Integrating Exablaze’s innovative products and technology into the Cisco portfolio will give our customers the latest field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology providing them with the flexibility and programmability they require.

June 6, 2019

EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire Sentryo

1 min read

I am pleased to announce Cisco’s intent to acquire Sentryo, a company based in Lyon, France that provides device visibility and security solutions for industrial control system (ICS) networks.

March 26, 2019

EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Cisco Turns Up the Innovation Dial with Decibel

4 min read

With Decibel, Cisco adds to its multi-faceted approach to innovation – a relationship with entrepreneurs at the earliest inception of startups, providing new perspectives on future Enterprise trends.

January 30, 2019

EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire Singularity Networks

1 min read

Cisco plans to integrate Singularity Networks’ analytics capabilities into its Crosswork Network Automation portfolio. The Cisco Crosswork Network Automation software portfolio helps service providers automate their networks.

November 21, 2018

EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire Ensoft

1 min read

The acquisition of Ensoft Ltd., a provider of software solutions for service provider networks, will further Cisco's commitment to simplify service provider networks through automation and programmability.

June 19, 2018

EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire July Systems

2 min read

As we continue to bolster our Enterprise Wi-Fi platform to enable superior indoor location services capabilities, Cisco welcomes July Systems and its cloud-based mobile experience and location services platform.

January 24, 2018

EXECUTIVE PLATFORM

Cisco Announces Intent to Acquire Skyport Systems

1 min read

2/8/18 Update: Pleased to announce that we have completed the acquisition of Skyport Systems. Welcome to Cisco! I’m excited to share that today Cisco announced its intent to acquire Skyport...