Women of Impact’s 2015 Fearless Female: Madhuri M.S.

Guest blog and interview written by Christine Morgner

At the Women of Impact Conference this year on March 19th, our focus is to empower attendees to Be Fearless – by taking risks, overcoming obstacles and blazing new trails in their personal and professional lives. The Conference focus is to connect, develop and inspire the women in technology at Cisco. Every week leading to our conference, we are planning to highlight a couple of our Fearless Females that embody our Be Fearless theme in their professional and personal lives.

Madhuri is a loyal and proud member of the Cisco IT team, based in Bangalore, India. For the last four and a half years, Madhuri has positively impacted Cisco’s IT organization by providing exceptional service contract support to our top customers. Even though it’s clear her role at Cisco is a result of her fearless actions and perseverance, Madhuri says she feels “lucky” to have her job.

Madhuri is originally from a small village in rural India. She credits her Mom for the inspiration to chase her dreams. Madhuri’s Mom worked outside the home during her childhood, which was not the norm in her culture. She encouraged Madhuri to do the same, but not before getting an education first. Despite many struggles including leaving the only life she knew for the daunting life in a big city, Madhuri successfully graduated from the Institute of Technology in Bangalore and was recruited for a job at Cisco. During the start of Madhuri’s career at Cisco, her biggest challenge was learning the English language. She was so close to quitting at one point, but her Mom urged her to fight and she did.

Madhuri said she experienced a huge triumph when she proved to her family, her manager, and most importantly to herself that she could overcome anything. Madhuri also acknowledges her current manager for his outstanding support and motivation.

In her free time, Madhuri enjoys mentoring young women in their pursuit of an education and a career. Madhuri also likes traveling, hiking, and helping others to see the limitless possibilities the world can offer. She is a true product of the opportunities any person can experience with the right amount of determination and fearlessness.

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