Shailaja Shankar

Shailaja Shankar is the Senior Vice President, Engineering of Cisco Security Business Group. A respected and transformative leader with strong executive management skills and deep technical experience, Shailaja is responsible for engineering—including strategy execution and architecture—to fundamentally simplify the security experience. 

Shailaja came to this role after holding numerous leadership positions within the security business including General Manager of the organization where she oversaw strategy, portfolio, and architecture. Shailaja was also SVP and GM of the Cloud and Networking Security business entity, where she focused on delivering the industry's most innovative solutions and leading Cisco through major technology shifts in cloud, network, and workload security through SASE, SSE, and Zero Trust. 

In addition to her deep technical product and portfolio development experience, Shailaja also prides herself on being a champion of diversity, mentoring next generation of technical women. She is a global advisor with How Women Lead. She was named among 10 Women Making a Difference in Cybersecurity by CRN and appointed to BorgWarner’s Board of Directors.