John T. Chambers

President Aníbal Cavaco Silva of Portugal (left), Chambers (center), and Helder Antunes (right); 2011.

Chambers was born on August 23, 1949 in Cleveland, Ohio to John Tuner "Jack" and June Chambers.[4] His mother was a psychiatrist and his father was an obstetrician.[5] The family resided in Kanawha City, West Virginia.[6]

When Chambers was nine years old, he was diagnosed with dyslexia.[7][8] Aided by a therapist, Chambers learned to cope with his disability.[6]

He holds a bachelor of science / bachelor of arts degree in business and a J.D. degree from West Virginia University and a master of business administration degree in finance and management from Kelley School of Business, Indiana University.[9] Previously, he also attended the School of Engineering at Duke University from 1967 to 1968, where he was a brother of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.[10][11]

After obtaining his MBA, Chambers began his career in technology sales at IBM 1976–1983 when he was 27 years old. At 34 years old, in 1983, Chambers joined Wang Laboratories, later becoming Vice President of US Operations in 1987. During Chambers's time at the company, Wang's profits declined dramatically from $2 billion 1989 to a $700 million loss in 1990. Chambers left Wang in 1991 at age 42, joining Cisco in that year.[5] Cisco had gone public on February 16, 1990.

Chambers at the World Economic Forum (2007).

Chambers joined a startup Cisco founded in 1983 as senior vice president, worldwide sales and operations.[9] 1990–1994, senior vice president of worldwide operations,1994–1995, executive vice president. Since January 1995, when he was 46 years old he assumed the role of CEO, the company grew from $70 million in annual revenues to a run-rate of approximately $40 billion in 2007.[12] In November 2006, he was named chairman of the board, in addition to his CEO role.[13] In October 2016, he was reported to own over 1.7 million Cisco shares worth approximately US$54 million.[14]

On July 27, 2015, Chuck Robbins replaced Chambers as CEO of Cisco Systems.[15]

Chambers served on the board of directors of myCFO.

In December 2017, Chambers stepped down from his role as chairman of Cisco's board, officially leaving the company. He holds the honorary title of Chairman Emeritus but holds no authority within the company.[16]

Chambers and his wife Elaine have two children, Lindsay and John.[17]

Chambers has made political donations totaling over $180,000 to the Democratic Party and over $1,000,000 to the Republican Party.[18] He served as a co-chair in Republican John McCain's 2008 presidential bid.[19]

Since 2010, Chambers has also served as a commissioner for the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, which leverages broadband technologies as a key enabler for social and economic development.[20]

On November 9, 2018, the College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University was renamed the John Chambers College of Business and Economics.[21]

Chambers has received various awards and honors for corporate philanthropy.

• Padma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian award honoured by the Government of India in 2019
• CNN's Top 25 Most Powerful People
• Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People"
• Clinton Global Citizen Award
• U.S. State Department Top Corporate Social Responsibility Award
• Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship
• 2009 Silicon Valley Education Foundation Pioneer Business Leader Award[22]
• 2012 Franklin Institute's Bower Award for Business Leadership[23]
• 2015 Harvard Business Review: The 100 Best-Performing CEOs in the World[24]
• In 2016, John Chambers was honored with an Edison Achievement Award for his commitment to innovation throughout his career.[25]

• 2014 – Total compensation of $16,488,184, which included a base salary of $1,100,000, a cash bonus of $2,500,000, stocks granted of $12,876,709, and other compensation worth $11,475.[26]
• 2013 – Total compensation of $21,049,501, which included a base salary of $1,100,000, a cash bonus of $4,700,080, stocks granted of $15,237,652, and other compensation worth $11,769.[27]
• 2012 – Total compensation of $11,687,666, which included a base salary of $375,000, a cash bonus of $3,953,376, stocks granted of $7,348,265, and other compensation worth $11,025.[27]
• 2011 – Total compensation of $12,890,829 which included a base salary of $375,000, no cash bonus, stocks granted of $12,500,100, and other compensation worth $11,025.[27]
• 2009 – Total compensation of $12,788,498, which included a base salary of $375,000, a cash bonus of $2,031,000, stocks granted of $10,372,500, and other compensation worth $9,998.[28]
• 2008 – Total compensation of $18,767,149, which included a base salary of $375,000, a cash bonus of $3,002,802, stocks granted of $6,442,000, and options granted of $8,938,260.[29]
• 2007 – Total compensation of $12,801,773, which included a base salary of $350,096, a cash bonus of $3,500,000 and options granted of $8,944,000.[30]

Chambers is mentioned in books about his management and leadership style.

• John Chambers and The Cisco Way (Waters, John K., Wiley, 2002) ISBN 978-0-471-00833-0
• The Eye of the Storm: How John Chambers Steered Cisco Through the Technology Collapse (Slater, Robert, HarperBusiness, 2003) ISBN 978-0-06-018887-0

He is the author of one book.

• Connecting the Dots: Lessons for Leadership in a Startup World (Chambers, John, Hachette, 2018) ISBN 978-0-31-648654-5

• Appearances on C-SPAN

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