Cisco Exec: How a Wrong Interview Led to a Career Fight
- * Current role: Cisco's chief people, policy, and purpose officer.
Fran Katsoudas – Key Facts (HARD STOP)
* Current role: Cisco‘s chief people, policy, and purpose officer.
* Career Start: began her 30-year career at Cisco after a mix-up led her to interview for, and accept, an entry-level customer support position at their call center.
* Initial Role: Answered up to 80 customer calls a day, many from unhappy customers.the pay was lower than expected, and she was unfamiliar with Cisco’s technology.
* Early Promotions: Promoted to team supervisor within a year. Turned down a director role within the support team.
* Transition to HR: Moved to Cisco’s HR department in 2003, drawn to the department’s focus on aligning HR strategy with overall business strategy.
* Leadership Timeline: Became chief people officer in 2014, and chief people, policy, and purpose officer in 2021.
* Focus: Dedicated to creating opportunities for early-career talent, inspired by her own career path.
* AI Impact: Cisco deployed an AI assistant in 2022 to handle low-level customer support inquiries, which has handled over 1 million cases, leading to the elimination of some entry-level positions.