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Alex Goryachev

Senior Director, Innovation Strategy & Programs

Corporate Strategic Innovation Group

Alex Goryachev is an entrepreneurial go-getter. He takes risks, thinks ahead, and loves making way for new innovations. Over the past 20 years, he’s made it his business to turn disruptive concepts into emerging business models.

For him, it’s all about a passion to create a strategy and then drive it home to “get things done.” And as Cisco’s Senior Director of Innovation Strategy and Programs, he has plenty of opportunities to put this passion to the test.

He sparks internal innovation by providing employees at all levels the chance to share their big ideas, many of which make their way into the company’s innovation engine. Alex also carries the torch for co-innovation across Cisco’s ecosystem.

He’s especially excited about Cisco's Innovation Centers, which can be found in major cities around the world. Led by Alex, these hubs bring together customers, partners, startups, accelerators, governments, research communities, and universities in a lab setting. Their goal is to discover, develop, and implement game-changing, outcome-based solutions.

He also heads up the Cisco Innovation Grand Challenges. These polished events help creative thinkers bring their technology ideas to life. And then there’s the Cisco Technology Radar, the company’s engine for identifying emerging technology transitions.

Alex began his Cisco journey in 2004 with a singular focus: Innovation. He defined and operationalized several high-profile Cisco initiatives, including the company’s Country Transformation plan for Cisco in emerging markets. He also held senior roles in Development, Marketing, Finance, and Channels, providing him a 360 view of how a great company ticks.

Prior to Cisco, Alex was a successful consultant with extended assignments at Napster, Liquid Audio, IBM Global Services, and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.

Articles

May 5, 2016

7

INNOVATION

There Has Never Been a Better Time for Innovation

Historians often point to The Renaissance many centuries ago as humankind’s most creatively prolific period. Indeed, timeless discoveries and masterpieces in art, literature and science burst forth from geniuses such as Leonardo de Vinci, Michelangelo, and Galileo. I spend a lot of my spare time stu…

February 25, 2016

INNOVATION

Co-Innovation Juices Overflowed at Cisco Live! Berlin

During Cisco Live! in Berlin last week, 43,320 oranges were squeezed to fuel the creative juices of customers, partners and developers who converged to co-innovate around the Internet of Things. That’s a lot of orange juice! And what a smashing success! With more than 12,000 attendees and hundreds o…

February 15, 2016

1

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

IoT in Action: Innovation in Sydney Gains Traction

What do idyllic beaches, a breathtaking harbor, iconic opera house, efficient agriculture, smart transportation – and the Internet of Things – all have in common? Answer: Sydney, Australia. Now, one of the world’s most vibrant communities and tourist locations is rapidly becoming another kind of glo…

January 12, 2016

2

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Cisco Innovation Centre Toronto Creates Big Bang in Digitization Universe

Technology innovations fueling the mass digitization of countries, cities and companies are reignited today with the highly anticipated opening of Cisco Innovation Centre Toronto – the first in North America and ninth worldwide. Yes, the opening created a Big Bang in our expanding universe of Innova…

December 8, 2015

3

INNOVATION

Innovation Grand Challenge Winners Present Glimpse into the Future

During three days in Dubai – what many call the Silicon Oasis — I joined a new and changing world of thinkers and doers. We experienced first-hand the smartest advances in 21st century technology and glimpsed into the future of what’s possible with the Internet of Things (IoT). That future is…

November 23, 2015

5

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Countdown to Winner’s Circle at IoTWF Starts for 2015 Innovation Grand Challenge

So now the countdown begins to name the winners of our second annual Cisco Innovation Grand Challenge at IoTWF. Today we unveil the six finalists selected by Cisco judges after a highly complex evaluation process, which started six months ago with 3,000 entries from more than 100 countries. I am ca…

October 16, 2015

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

New Berlin Innovation Center Accelerates ‘Network Multiplier’

At yesterday’s inauguration of Cisco’s ninth Innovation Center in the world, Berlin’s smartest new facility was abuzz with startup-like excitement for the possibilities of what the new digital world can deliver. I mingled with Cisco colleagues, customers, partners, app developers, entrepreneurs, tho…

October 5, 2015

11

INNOVATION

IoT Disruptors: Announcing Innovation Grand Challenge Semi-Finalists

I am thrilled to be the first to announce our 15 semi-finalists in Cisco’s second annual Innovation Grand Challenge. Culled from more than 3,000 entries in over 100 countries since June, I can sum up the semi-finalists’ innovations in one word: Disruptors. I want to congratulate all the semi-finalis…

September 22, 2015

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

IoT Innovation: Accelerating Rapidly and Exponentially

Co-Innovation. Hyper-Collaboration. Sharing Economy. Whatever you call it, it’s clear to me that the global community of innovators around the Internet of Things (IoT) keeps accelerating — rapidly and exponentially. I have personally experienced this disruptive growth in just the past three mo…