Howard Charney
Senior Vice President in the office of the President
Cisco Systems

Mr Charney's primary responsibility is communicating Cisco's strategy and vision to worldwide audiences and advising businesses and governments on how the Internet can help their organizations become more productive and build a competitive advantage. He delivers keynote speeches on Information Technology to business, government and education audiences around the world. As an executive officer reporting directly to CEO John Chambers, Mr Charney also contributes to Cisco's overall strategy and direction.

Mr.Charney began his career at Cisco in 1995 when the company he founded, Grand Junction, was acquired by Cisco. He served as Vice President and General Manager of a networking business unit for two years. In 1997, he was promoted to Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Small/Medium Business Line of Business at Cisco. In less than two years, he expanded Cisco's two-tier channel business from $170 million to $1.1 billion to become the market leader in two-tier distribution of network systems. In October 1998, Charney was named Senior Vice President in Cisco's Office of the President.

Howard Charney is a member of the Colorado Governor's Commission on Science and Technology as well as the advisory board of the Center for Science, Technology and Society at Santa Clara University in California.

He earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his M.B.A and J.D. degrees from Santa Clara University. He is a member of both the State Bar of California and the Federal Bar and is a licensed patent attorney.