Indian-origin Pankaj Patel to engineer a Cisco's turnaround

BENGALURU: Indian-origin Pankaj Patel, who is joining the executive leadership team of Cisco’s new CEO Chuck Robbins, studied engineering at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in India.

Patel, 60, Patel will continue to lead Cisco’s development engineers and the company’s $36-billion technology portfolio. He leads a global team of about 28,000 people.

He was previously senior vice-president and general manager for the company’s service provider business. He was responsible for the Cisco IGX product line and software development for all Cisco ATM switches, the company said on its website.

Patel joined Cisco through its acquisition of Stratacom nearly two decades ago. Patel also holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.