AI, Simplicity, and Purpose: Jeetu Patel on Building Cisco’s AI-First Future

Imagine this: you’re running one of the most iconic tech companies in the world, but the world has changed. Generative AI is rewriting the playbook. Customers want seamless, secure experiences. The cloud is no longer an option; it’s the backbone.

That’s where Jeetu Patel steps in.

In this episode of our technology leadership podcast, we sit down with Jeetu Patel, President and Chief Product Officer at Cisco, for an unfiltered conversation on product philosophy, platform thinking, and the future of AI-first infrastructure. The story is not just about Cisco. It is about how tech companies must fundamentally rethink how they innovate, ship, and serve in a world where speed, simplicity, and security are non-negotiable.

The journey from Gujarat to global boardrooms

Jeetu’s story begins in Gujarat, India, where his early years were steeped in curiosity and conviction. And, the belief in himself carried him from India to the U.S., where he built a career spanning startups, public companies, and now Cisco, a USD 57 billion technology giant. What stayed constant? His obsession with products, simplicity, and solving real problems.

Cisco’s new North Star: Platform first, AI always

Jitu’s leadership coincides with Cisco’s biggest strategic pivot: becoming an AI-native platform company. This means moving beyond siloed tools to building integrated platforms across Networking, Security, Collaboration, and Observability.

At the core of this is a design principle: radical simplicity.

The vision is clear, to enable companies to connect, secure, and observe everything, everywhere, in real-time. AI is not an add-on in Jeetu’s playbook. It is foundational.

Cisco is embedding AI across every layer, from predictive network analytics to real-time security and collaboration tools. The company is also integrating its acquisition of Splunk, a USD 28 billion move to bolster observability and incident response at enterprise scale.

What’s next: Building the infrastructure of the future

Cisco’s next big leap? Building AI-native, cloud-delivered infrastructure that meets the needs of a distributed, data-rich, fast-changing world.

With Splunk, ThousandEyes, Duo, and Webex all coming together into a unified platform, Jeetu envisions a world where:

• Networks heal themselves before users notice.
• Security stops breaches before they occur.
• Collaboration happens securely, no matter where you are.

This is not just a conversation about Cisco. It is a masterclass in platform thinking, purposeful leadership, and product execution at scale.