Cisco elevates BT alumna to UK&I CEO

Sarah Walker has been with the business for over two years and replaces David Meads in the top job

Cisco has joined the list of vendors renewing their leadership ranks this summer with the appointment of Sarah Walker as its new UK and Ireland CEO.

Walker steps into the role vacated by David Meads, who is moving to lead the vendor's Middle East and Africa operations.

Having joined the company in 2022, Walker was previously MD for its UK&I enterprise business.

Prior to this, she spent 25 years across various sales roles at BT, culminating in a two-and-a-half year tenure as director for corporate and public services.

She also chairs the board of trustees for the Greater Manchester Academies Trust and is a NED with Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust.

In her role leading Cisco's enterprise business, Walker was responsible for the company's relationships with more large, private sector organisations across key sectors for the UK and Ireland, including transport, pharmaceuticals and financial services.

"I am delighted to be stepping in to this role at such an important juncture for the nation, the technology industry and for our customers," she commented.

"AI is creating even clearer lines between the outcomes that technology can support, the strategic objectives of organisations and the needs of society.

"The way we utilise and build for AI now, will shape the next decade and I truly believe that no one is better placed than Cisco to ensure that we do so securely and responsibly."

"Sarah brings not only a proven track record in leveraging technology to solve problems and create value for organisations across the public and private sectors, but also a wealth of energy and innovative thinking," added Oliver Tuszik, president, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

"I could not be more confident in her ability to lead the Cisco team in the UK and Ireland to create an even greater impact through our solutions, benefiting our customers, partners and the community."

Walker's is the latest in a series of executive promotions and reshuffles this summer, after Nutanix and IBM both announced leadership changes in their UK&I organisations over the past week.

On the reseller side, SCC recently hired Computacenter alum Trevor Nickolls in a senior sales role.