Breakthrough Builders Empathy Begets Excellence: Jeetu Patel
If you ask Jeetu Patel about the nature of success, he’ll tell you that “no one is entirely self-made.” And he’ll be quick to point out all the times that friends and mentors sustained, encouraged, and inspired him as he grew into positions of leadership at innovative companies like Doculabs, EMC, Box, and now, Cisco—where, as SVP and GM of Security and Collaboration, he’s taking on the mission to transform the company around SaaS offerings that break down geographical barriers and improve access to opportunity for people around the world.
But as we often highlight on Breakthrough Builders, opportunity has a strong tendency to gravitate toward grit and curiosity—personal characteristics that are as much a part of Jeetu’s story as his gratitude. In his talk with Jesse, hear how Jeetu pursued a new family legacy in the US after leaving unsafe conditions in his childhood home of Mumbai, India. You’ll hear how he first became a business owner with a loan secured more by passion than means, why he left that role after seventeen years for a position where he was expected to learn as much as lead, and how his unique path prepared him to harmonize the often-competing disciplines of privacy and product development at Cisco. Throughout the episode, Jeetu offers a compelling case for why unheard voices need to be amplified, why titles should stay out of the room when product ideas are being debated, and why empathy is now the ultimate driver of business success.
Guest Bio
Jeetu Patel is Cisco’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of Security and Collaboration. He leverages a diverse set of capabilities to lead the strategy and development for these businesses while helping to redefine Cisco's SaaS business and strategy around differentiated products that diverge in the way they’re conceived, built, priced, packaged and sold.
Prior to joining Cisco, Jeetu was the Chief Product Officer (CPO) and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at Box, a role he pioneered. He transformed Box from a single product application to a multi-product platform used by 100K customers representing 69% of the Fortune 500. Before joining Box, Jeetu was General Manager and Chief Executive of EMC’s newly acquired Syncplicity business unit and President of Doculabs, a research and advisory firm co-owned by Forrester Research.
Helpful Links
Dec 2020: Cisco Announces All-New Webex Features
10 Lessons on How to Scale Your Product
Referenced in episode:
Radical Candor by Kim Scott
Management in 10 Words by Terry Leahy