Esther Ayorinde
Senior Director, CX Go-To-Market at Cisco
As Growth Strategy Leader for Cisco Africa, Esther Ayorinde leads Cisco’s business growth on the continent by partnering with Cisco’s Sales, partners, customers and Corporate Responsibility teams. She is executing on Cisco’s vision to build a digitally inclusive Africa – creating digitally powered jobs, empowering governments for digital acceleration and securely connecting the unconnected.
Since joining Cisco in 2006, Esther has held various Go-to- Market positions in a diverse mix of industries including: the private sector, Global Service Provider, Financial Services and Sports & Media. Her relentless work ethic, passion for people, and strong technological understanding has helped her drive continuous double-digit growth in her accounts every year. These successes created the path for her to become the inaugural Chief of Staff for Gerri Elliott, Cisco’s EVP of Global Sales and Marketing in 2018. Esther acted as a key strategic advisor, and owned initiatives focused on simplifying and transforming the sales organization at Cisco. Esther is widely recognized for her industry leadership, professional achievement, and influence in the business world, previously serving on the board of Women in Cable Telecommunications in New York. Esther was recently named to the “40 Under Forty Achievers” list by The Network Journal.
Outside of the tech industry, Esther was a professional dancer for the National Football League and National Basketball League for seven seasons, five while working at Cisco. She was named the first black Captain of the New York Jets team. Esther entered the tech industry as early as 15 years old as a Cisco NetAcademy student just after migrating to the United States, 4 years later she started her first company. Of Nigerian decent and originally from London England, Esther holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Management from Santa Clara University.
