Charles H. Robbins (born 1965 or 1966) is an American businessman. He is the chairman and CEO of

Cisco Systems Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, m ...

Early life

Robbins was born in Grayson, Georgia, and educated at Rocky Mount High School in

Rocky Mount, North Carolina Rocky Mount is a city in Nash and Edgecombe counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The city's population was 54,341 as of the 2020 census, making it the 20th-most populous city in North Carolina. The city is east of Raleigh, the st ...

. In 1987, he earned a Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

Career

Robbins began his career as an application developer for North Carolina National Bank (now part of

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

). He joined Wellfleet Communications followed by a brief tenure at

Ascend Communications Ascend Communications, Inc. was an Alameda, California-based manufacturer of communications equipment that was later purchased by Lucent Technologies in 1999. Ascend Communications was founded in 1988 and taken public in 1994. Initial investo ...

before joining Cisco in 1997. Robbins filled various posts at Cisco, including senior vice president of the Americas and senior vice president of Worldwide Field Operations, a role in which he led Cisco's Worldwide Sales and Partner Organizations and built out Cisco's partnership program. In May 2015, Cisco announced that CEO and chairman John Chambers would step down as CEO in July 2015 while remaining as chairman. Robbins, then a senior vice president, was named as his successor. Mentored by Chambers, Robbins was unanimously voted in as the company's new chief executive, becoming CEO of Cisco Systems in July 2015. As CEO, Robbins became noted for accelerating the pace of Cisco's modern growth, while disrupting outdated working modes, promoting employee trust based in transparency of policy and process, and humanitarian policies and workplace diversity. Robbins has advocated for corporate social responsibility. However, in 2018, he said that talk of corporate social responsibility is becoming obsolete and just expected of "corporate icons." In 2018, as the GDPR came into effect, Robbins called for more regulation and for the tech industry to help educate regulators. In February 2019, Robbins promoted the need for comprehensive global privacy legislation, asserting privacy as “a fundamental human right." In 2019, Robbins advocated against a 15% increase on tariffs for Chinese goods. In 2023, Robbins's total compensation at Cisco was $31.8 million, up 37% from the previous year and representing a CEO-to-median worker pay ratio of 267-to-1.

Boards and affiliations

Robbins serves the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

as the chair for the IT Governors Steering Committee and as a member of the International Business Council. He is a member of the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

board of trustees. He is a director for

BlackRock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational investment company. Founded in 1988, initially as an enterprise risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager ...

and for The Business Roundtable where he chairs the Immigration Committee. In 2018, Robbins authored a statement on behalf of Business Roundtable that applauded bipartisan lawmakers working to reform immigration policies, while urging the White House “Administration to end immediately the policy of separating accompanied minors from their parents,” decrying the practice as “cruel and contrary to American values.” Robbins spoke at the

in Davos, Switzerland in 2016, 2017, and 2018, and at the 2019 WEF annual general meeting. As well as the 2024 annual meeting. He has been a board member of the MS Society of Northern California, a member of the Advisory Board of Georgia Tech, and a member of the International Council for the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. He is also a member of the 2019 class of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

. Robbins also serves as honorary counsel to Destination: Home, a non-profit organization devoted to ending homelessness in Santa Clara County, where Cisco's headquarters is located.

Personal life

Robbins is a fan of

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

men's basketball and participates in social media. He is married with four children and lives in Los Gatos,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

References

External links

"Behind the scenes at Cisco with CEO Chuck Robbins and his team" (video)
Cisco; April 2, 2019. Accessed June 28, 2109. {{DEFAULTSORT:Robbins, Chuck Living people University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni American chief executives of manufacturing companies American technology chief executives Cisco people 1960s births People from Los Gatos, California People from Gwinnett County, Georgia BlackRock people Proprietary technology salespersons Year of birth missing (living people)