John Chambers is Chairman and CEO of Cisco. He has helped grow the company from $70 million when he joined Cisco in January 1991, to $1.2 billion when he assumed the role of CEO, to its current run rate of $40 billion.   In November 2006, Chambers was named Chairman of the Board, in addition to his CEO role. 

Chambers has been widely recognized for his and Cisco’s philanthropic leadership, recently receiving the first-ever Clinton Global Citizen Award from former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and the U.S. State Department’s top corporate social responsibility award from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He has also been awarded the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship, and the prestigious Excellence in Corporate Philanthropy Award, an award given by CEOs to their CEO peers.

Chambers takes an active role in corporate social responsibility initiatives worldwide, which most recently includes forming a public-private partnership to help rebuild healthcare and education models in the Sichuan, China region impacted by the May 2008 earthquake. Chambers also co-sponsored the Jordan Education Initiative, which Cisco has worked on in partnership with His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan and the World Economic Forum. Additionally, in late 2006, Chambers co-led a delegation of U.S. business leaders, in partnership with the U.S. State Department, to form the Partnership for Lebanon, helping provide critically needed resources for ongoing reconstruction in Lebanon. Chambers has also spearheaded several other education initiatives, including the 21st Century Schools initiative, to improve education and opportunity for children in the Gulf Coast Region affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Chambers joined Cisco in 1991 as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Operations. He assumed the role of President and CEO in 1995. Chambers holds a law degree (1974) and a Bachelor of Science / Bachelor of Arts degree (1971) in business from West Virginia University and a Masters of Business Administration degree in finance and management (1975) from Indiana University.