In his role as Cisco’s Chief Strategy Officer, Hilton Romanski is responsible for shaping Cisco’s corporate strategy and applying tools that allow Cisco to anticipate and lead market transitions. Hilton oversees Cisco’s $2 billion venture and private equity investment portfolio, mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, the integration of new business models, and fostering disruptive innovations.
Hilton has been at the forefront of Cisco’s growth and transformation strategy, leading entry and major moves into multiple new markets, including security, mobility, cloud, and software. In addition to leading growth in primary technology sectors, Hilton pioneered Cisco’s M&A and investment activity in global markets, including China, Europe, India, Israel, and Latin America. In total, Hilton has been responsible for nearly $20 billion in acquisitions across over 40 deals, Including Airespace, Meraki, Metacloud, and Sourcefire. He has also been the driving force behind many of the innovative financial structures and equity investments in Cisco’s portfolio as well as the development of Cisco’s nine Global Innovation Centers, in which Cisco co-develops and experiments with startups, customers, and partners.
Prior to joining Cisco, Hilton was an investment banker at J.P. Morgan, where he worked in the firm’s Technology, Media and Telecom group, based in San Francisco, and cofounded J.P. Morgan’s West Coast telecom practice. He previously worked in J.P. Morgan’s New York headquarters, where he was an M&A specialist.
Hilton earned his MBA degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and his BA degree from Columbia University.