Jeetu Patel

Jeetu Patel is the president and chief product officer at Cisco, where he leads a team of 30,000 people and is playing a central role in the massive AI infrastructure buildout happening right now. Previously, he spent five years as CPO at Box and 17 years running his own startup. Recently Jeetu organized an AI summit featuring industry leaders like Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, Marc Andreessen, and Fei-Fei Li. We discuss: 1. How Cisco went AI-first across 90,000 employees 2. His six-part framework for building great companies: timing, market, team, product, brand, distribution 3. Why he says he couldn’t have done this job without AI 4. His “right to win” strategic framework 5. His communication framework for preventing “packet loss” across an organization 6. Why he flips “praise in public, criticize in private” and does the exact opposite 7. The important communication lesson his mother taught him — Brought to you by: Sentry—Code breaks, fix it faster: https://sentry.io/lenny Framer—Build better websites faster: https://framer.com/lenny Samsara—Saving lives with AI built for physical operations: https://samsara.com/lenny — Episode transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ai-is-critical-for-humanitys-survival — Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0 — Where to find Jeetu Patel: • X: https://x.com/jpatel41 • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeetupatel • Website: https://blogs.cisco.com/author/jeetupatel — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction and welcome (04:15) Insights from Cisco’s Al summit (08:45) Transforming Cisco into an Al-first company (15:33) What Cisco actually does in the Al infrastructure stack (19:09) The future of Al (24:36) Raising kids in the AI era (29:46) “Permission to play” framework (36:50) Lessons from great CEOs (42:02) Leading at scale (50:54) Why Jeetu inverts the ‘praise in public, criticize in private’ rule (57:45) Surrounding yourself with good human beings (58:35) Lessons from loss (01:03:21) Career advice: platforms, hunger, and preparation (01:10:21) The six-part framework for building great companies (01:19:05) Lightning round and final thoughts — Resources and episode mentions: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/ai-is-critical-for-humanitys-survival — Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

Jeetu Patel

President and Chief Product Officer

CiscoBox

AI isn’t just changing software, it’s causing the biggest buildout of physical infrastructure in modern history. In this episode, Raghu Raghuram (a16z) speaks with Amin Vahdat, VP and GM of AI and Infrastructure at Google, and Jeetu Patel, President and Chief Product Officer at Cisco, about the unprecedented scale of what’s being built — from chips to power grids to global data centers. They discuss the new “AI industrial revolution,” where power, compute, and network are the new scarce resources; how geopolitical competition is shaping chip design and data center placement; and why the next generation of AI infrastructure will demand co-design across hardware, software, and networking. The conversation also covers how enterprises will adapt, why we’re still in the earliest phase of this CapEx supercycle, and how AI inference, reinforcement learning, and multi-site computing will transform how systems are built and run.   Resources: Follow Raghu on X: https://x.com/RaghuRaghuram Follow Jeetu on X: https://x.com/jpatel41 Follow Amin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vahdat/   Stay Updated:  If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://x.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Amin Vahdat

VP and GM of AI and Infrastructure

GoogleGoogle Cloud

Jeetu Patel

President and Chief Product Officer

CiscoBox

Cisco is well known for its data, networking, security, and collaboration products. On today’s episode, Cisco’s president and chief product officer, Jeetu Patel, joins Sam for a discussion about artificial intelligence, a “megatrend” Jeetu sees as perhaps more significant than the development of the internet or the automobile because of its ability to build on past technological advances. Jeetu and Sam discuss how to manage AI and how to staff for it — Jeetu argues that replacing less experienced or younger workers with technology deprives organizations of key perspectives and new ideas, and instead advocates for developing reverse-mentoring programs inside organizations. Read the episode transcript here. Guest bio: Jeetu Patel, Cisco’s president and chief product officer, combines product design and development expertise, operational rigor, and market understanding to create high-growth businesses. He is tasked with building world-class products to solve customers’ problems, and connect and protect every aspect of their organization in the AI era. Previously a general manager at Cisco, he led the strategy and development of its Security and Collaboration businesses. Before Cisco, Patel was the chief product officer and chief strategy officer at cloud content management company Box. He’s also held roles at EMC, including chief executive of its Syncplicity business unit, CMO for the Information Intelligence Group, and chief strategy officer. He currently serves on the board of JLL, a commercial real estate services company. Jeetu has a bachelor’s degree in information decision sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Me, Myself, and AI is a podcast produced by MIT Sloan Management Review and hosted by Sam Ransbotham. It is engineered by David Lishansky and produced by Allison Ryder. We encourage you to rate and review our show. Your comments may be used in Me, Myself, and AI materials.

Jeetu Patel

President and Chief Product Officer

CiscoBox

What happens when a startup becomes a giant—and then has to reinvent itself all over again? In this episode, Martin Casado sits down with Raghu Raghuram (former CEO of VMware) and Jeetu Patel (President and CPO at Cisco) for a deep, tactical conversation on scaling, disruption, and navigating transformation from the inside. They share hard-won lessons from leading two of the most iconic infrastructure companies in tech—through waves like virtualization, cloud, containers, and now AI. They cover: How to keep innovation alive inside large companies Why the best companies operate with a founder’s mindset, even without founders The difference between selling to buyers vs. practitioners Why the story is the strategy, and how to tell it at scale How Cisco is rebuilding its startup DNA in the age of AI If you're building or leading through a major tech wave, this episode is a playbook.   Timecodes: 0:00 Introduction  2:02 Weapons of Mass Disruption: Abstractions, Business Models, and Cloud   5:57 Cisco’s Missed Cloud Wave & Resetting for Innovation   6:39 Operating Like a Startup: Speed, Scale, and Leadership   10:00 Go-to-Market Challenges: Fencing Off Innovation   11:04 Organic vs. Inorganic Growth: Lessons from VMware   12:04 The 10x Rule and Competing with Incumbents   14:39 Structuring for Disruption: Two-Pizza Teams and Ideal Customer Profiles   18:43 Storytelling as Strategy: Galvanizing Large Organizations   19:42 The AI Wave: Consumerization and Infrastructure Demands   25:34 Founders vs. Operators: Leading Transformations   31:47 Product-Led Organizations: From Sales to Product Focus   34:35 The Future of Infrastructure: AI, Market Size, and Vertical Integration   39:34 Timing, Market, Team, Product, Brand, and Scale   41:19 Authenticity, Opportunity, and Final Thoughts     Resources: Find Martin on X: https://x.com/martin_casado Find Raghu on X: https://x.com/raghuraghuram Find Jeetu on X: https://x.com/jpatel41   Stay Updated:  Let us know what you think: https://ratethispodcast.com/a16z Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/ Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Raghu Raghuram

Former CEO

VMware

Jeetu Patel

President and Chief Product Officer

CiscoBox

Jeetu Patel is Senior Vice President of Platform and Chief Strategy Officer of Box where he leads the Box Platform organization, driving the strategy of the platform business and developer relations. He also oversees the corporate strategy and development organization for Box. Before joining the company, Patel was General Manager and Chief Executive of EMC's Syncplicity business unit. Prior to EMC, Patel was president of Doculabs, a research and advisory firm focused on collaboration and content management across a range of industries. In Today's Episode You Will Learn: How Jeetu made his way into the world of SaaS and came to be one of the key executives at Box? What are Jeetu's 3 tips to startup founders looking to build high performing teams? Why does Jeetu believe that team sizes must always remain small? What are the inflection points in team size when dynamics change? What does Jeetu argue that founders must pursue really hard problems? What are the benefits of this when hiring new people to the team? How does Jeetu balance between visionary hard problems and unrealistic? What does Jeetu mean when he says, 'do things that do not scale so you can do things that sustainably scale? What are some examples of how this has been done effectively? Where do most startups go wrong in scaling sustainably? 60 Second SaaStr What does Jeetu believe that most around him do not? Fave SaaS reading material? Why businesses will find the rules of the future very different to the rules of the past? If you would like to find out more about the show and the guests presented, you can follow us on Twitter here: Jason Lemkin Harry Stebbings SaaStr Jeetu Patel

Jeetu Patel

President and Chief Product Officer

CiscoBox