Marilyn Holness
WIT Foundation Director of Partnerships
Director of Worldwide Service Provider Line of Business
Cisco Systems, Inc.

Marilyn Holness is currently the Director of Worldwide Service Provider Line of Business for Cisco Systems, Inc.  As part of a global team of technical professionals, charged with building the solutions that provide Next Generation Networks to Service Providers, Marilyn Holness works with Cisco's Top Service Provider customers to align their strategic business processes to utilize the full power of an intelligent network.  Ms. Holness actively works to lead the development of Cisco's new portfolio of annuity based services, a critical initiative for Cisco Systems, in its migration from a product-focused to a solutions-focused company.

Ms. Holness has more than 20 years of telecommunication and business experience.  She is a results oriented executive with a successful record of leading cross-functional teams and managing cross boundary operations.  Before joining Cisco, Ms. Holness served as the Director for the Network Operations and Security Center in Europe.  In this role, she led a large operations team responsible for the day-to-day integrity of secure and non-secure voice, video, and data networks.

Ms. Holness is an innovative leader and has contributed to networking strategies of many large companies, which have helped them increase the value of their IT investments through the efficient use of technology.  She has consulted with many Fortune 500 companies on large, complex network implementations and redesigns.  Ms. Holness has worked across a number of industries including entertainment, healthcare, financial/banking, transportation, government/public sector and telecommunication.

Ms. Holness is a frequent speaker on topics including technology visions for changing the workplace and living environments and devotes much of her personal time to causes which further the education and advancement of women and minorities in technology.

She is a graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park and holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.  She is an active member of The Technology Association of Georgia's Women in Technology (WIT) organization and serves on the WIT Foundation's Board.  She is also a member of the Global Women's Executive Association

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