Agenda Setters 2007

John Chambers, Cisco CEO

Position: 4    Last year: 26

Why? Powerful position at the heart of internet development

Agree with panel rating?

• Previous
• Back to list
• Next

Cisco continues to dominate the networking infrastructure arena but what impressed the Agenda Setters panel even more this year was John Chambers' handle on web 2.0 developments.

In February Cisco acquired WebEx for $3.2bn. The software and hosted service allows for on-demand collaboration between businesses, through the use of internet and VoIP products, without having to load applications on their own networks. Pundits have said this puts Cisco head-to-head with Microsoft.

Chambers took the role of president and CEO of Cisco more than 12 years ago. Since then, it's safe to say no other hardware company has been so closely involved with building and designing the internet's infrastructure.

Unlike his software counterpart, Bill Gates, Chambers still plays a steering role in developing the company, championing the internal Internet Solutions Group to the rest of the world.

Chambers is recognised globally as a luminary and is regularly invited to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on wider IT issues.

He moves freely in political circles, rubbing shoulders with the great and the good in US government. He's currently vice chairman of President Bush's National Infrastructure Advisory Council and previously served on President Clinton's Trade Policy Committee.