Phil Smith is UK & Ireland CEO of Cisco - the worldwide leader in networking for the internet and is responsible for the company’s largest operation outside of North America.

He has a thirty year track record within the ICT industry, advising leading global organisations in the private and public sector on how to drive transformation, productivity and sustainable growth. Phil is also an advocate of technology and innovation to the region’s business and political leaders, sitting on a number of boards including Young Enterprise, e-Skills UK and the Employers Forum for Disability.

Cisco UK & Ireland was established in the early nineties when Phil joined the organisation and he has been a key player in creating the significant and recognised business that it is today, a ‘Great Place to Work’ and ‘Times Top 50 Place Where Women Want to Work’ with 3500 employees in functions based across the globe.

Phil’s breadth of leadership and experience is represented by the diversity of senior roles he has held over the past two decades including Technical Director, Sales Business Development Director and Managing Director BT Operations where he was responsible for negotiating and driving a multi-billion pound project for BT 21C.

Phil has been on Cisco’s European Board for over five years and in his previous role as VP, Technology and Marketing for Europe, Phil accelerated Cisco’s external brand and the growth of advanced technologies such as video and virtualisation. Prior to joining Cisco, Phil worked for IBM and Philips Electronics and is a passionate communicator. He is a former contributor to Sunday Times Enterprise Network column, can regularly be found blogging or tweeting and is an accomplished speaker on a number of topics including ‘the future of the internet’, innovation, Web 2.0 and transformational technology in organisations and government.

Phil takes an active role in corporate social responsibility initiatives, which most recently includes completing a triathlon to raise money for Comic Relief projects which he visited in Malawi. He has also recently been recognised with a national award as ‘Mentor of the Year’ for his role in building and leading a diverse workforce.