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Maciej Kranz

Vice President and General Manager

Corporate Strategic Innovation Group

Maciej Kranz brings 25 years of business and management experience to his position as Vice President, Corporate Technology Group. Kranz leads an effort focused on identifying and capitalizing on major technology market disruptions, shaping and amplifying Cisco technology strategy, and conducting technology due diligence for potential investments/acquisitions.

Prior to this role, Kranz drove the vision, strategy and P&L for a new hyper-growth business unit focused on Internet of Things. As General Manager, Connected Industries Group, he built a 220-person team and $250M business from the ground up in 18 months. He relentlessly evangelized the business across the company to establish the Internet of Things as a major Cisco initiative.

As VP Borderless Networks, Kranz led the efforts across Cisco businesses of defining, prioritizing, and delivering Borderless Network Architecture and roadmaps. Cisco networks enabled enterprises to conduct business and communicate from anywhere, anytime, and in any way they wish – as Borderless Networks.

With his tenure as VP of Marketing for the Wireless Networking Business Unit (WNBU), Kranz drove business and product strategy for business-class indoor and outdoor wireless and mobility offerings.

Kranz also led product management for the stackable Ethernet switching business unit, which he grew to a multi-billion dollar business across enterprise, small business, and Metro Ethernet networks.

Prior to Cisco, Kranz held various management positions at 3Com Corporation, where he was instrumental in the strategy, development and expansion into new markets of 3Com’s $1B Ethernet network interface cards (NICs) product line. He began his professional career at IBM Corporation in International Marketing.

Articles

October 12, 2016

INNOVATION

These Boots Were Made For Walking: A New Look at the Path to IoT Success

Last year, I wrote a series of blogs exploring the various technology and business factors to keep in mind while considering an Internet of Things (IoT) deployment. Since then, IoT has continued to accelerate its drive toward transformational change across industries. And I have continued to log in…

September 7, 2016

INNOVATION

No Vacation for Innovation

Last week I was pleased to be part of a Cisco celebration of home-grown innovation. Our first-ever Party on the Patio showcased strategic innovations, underscoring that there’s no vacation for innovation this year at Cisco. The event included food, music, games, giveaways, and hands-on demos o…

July 18, 2016

INNOVATION

Welcome to the Co-Economy: There’s Never Been a Better Time

The world has never been more connected, and there’s never been a better opportunity for co-innovation, co-development, co-marketing, and even co-funding. The time is right for the co-economy—a trend that is reshaping how we work, live, and conduct business. Granted, some aspects of the co-economy h…

June 23, 2016

INNOVATION

Succeeding with Customers and Partners in the “Co-Economy”

Cooperation, co-development, co-opetition. What does it take to succeed in the “co-economy”? Just as the “sharing economy” has changed the basic assumptions upon which the hotel and taxi industries are built, the “co-economy” is changing some of the fundamental ways we think about developing and bri…

May 19, 2016

INNOVATION

Co-Innovating for Startups and Enterprises—Better Together?

People say that opposites attract, but big differences in economic or social background, education, and personality can sometimes lead to misunderstanding, conflict—and a weekly appointment with a marriage counselor! The same can be true when unevenly matched companies—such as a large enterprise and…

April 20, 2016

INNOVATION

Setting the Stage for Co-Innovation Success

The new model for co-innovation can be messy. No longer a one-thing-at-a-time, linear methodology, today’s development process involves people from different organizations, with different backgrounds and cultures working on several different tracks at once, with rapid prototyping, real-time customer…

April 5, 2016

INNOVATION

The Time Is Now for Co-Innovation: Three Reasons Why

Traditionally, Cisco’s innovation strategy has been built around four foundational pillars: build, buy, partner, and invest. Recently, however, a fifth pillar—co-innovation —has become more prominent. In my last blog, I introduced the idea that innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum—it requires diver…

March 23, 2016

INNOVATION

Co-Innovation: Shining a “Lightbulb” on the Myth of the Lone Inventor

A few years ago I sat down with technology leaders at a major oil and gas company to talk about a solution they wanted Cisco to develop, and they had some unique and interesting requirements: They wanted us to work with them to co-innovate this solution. They also asked us to work with their three…

December 16, 2015

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

The Internet of Things: Hype or Reality?

Having spent several days last week at the Internet of Things World Forum in Dubai, I am more convinced than ever that the Internet of Things (IoT) is not some hyped-up futuristic vision of what could be, but a present-day reality that is transforming businesses and industries here and now. In this…