Padmasree Warrior
Padmasree Warrior is a prominent figure in the technology industry, known for her significant contributions as an engineer and executive. Born in 1961 in Vijayawada, India, she pursued her education in chemical engineering, earning degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology and Cornell University. Warrior began her career at Motorola, where she became the first female executive and held various leadership roles over her 23-year tenure. She later served as Chief Technology Officer at Cisco Systems, influencing strategic acquisitions and advancing technology initiatives. In 2015, she transitioned to the role of CEO for the U.S. operations of NIO, a Chinese electric vehicle company, positioning it as a competitor to Tesla. In addition to her corporate roles, Warrior founded Fable, a social reading platform, and has been recognized by Forbes as an influential entrepreneur. Outside of her professional achievements, she is involved in various boards and enjoys pursuits such as sculpting and literature, reflecting a diverse personal and professional life.
Subject Terms
Padmasree Warrior
Technology executive
- Born: 1961
- Place of Birth: Vijayawada, India
Introduction
A chemical engineer by training, Warrior rose to hold influential senior executive positions at major companies including telecommunications giant Motorola, tech conglomerate Cisco Systems, and Chinese automaker NIO. She became known in the technology industry for her ability to identify trends and for recognizing the need for constant development of new technology to improve business networking systems.
Early Life
Padmasree Warrior was born in Vijayawada, India, in 1961 into a ethnically Telegu family. She attended high school and college in India, obtaining an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology. She then received a master's degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University. Both of her parents provided Warrior with a firm foundation in mathematics and science, supporting her self-confidence and desire to keep learning and sending her to study and work in the United States.
Life's Work
Warrior received her graduate degree in 1984 and began working for Motorola, Inc., that year. She was employed at Motorola's semiconductor plant in Arizona before she graduated from college. There she worked on improving the technology systems of the plant and made her reputation as the only female engineer in the factory. The academically minded Warrior had little intention of devoting her life to corporate technology but managed to spend twenty-three years at Motorola doing just that. She became an executive in 2003, making her the first woman in the company to achieve that level. She was promoted to senior vice president in 2005.
Warrior left Motorola on December 4, 2007, when she began working for Cisco Systems. Her announcement as chief technology officer (CTO) was sen as significant news within the technology industry. She was one of the few employees to be handed an executive position rather than having to work up from the ground floor of the ever-expanding company.
Cisco had been founded in 1984 in San Jose, California, after cofounders Sandy Lerner and Leonard Bosack perfected their new router technology while working for Stanford University. The company's first product was a smart router that allowed multiple machines, computers, and networks to work together regardless of manufacturer. Others in the new technology field needed the products Cisco offered in a world where very few networking products were available; the company went on to become one of the world's largest manufacturers and distributors of internet and computer technology. It sold products including routers, switchers, network adapters, and networking software primarily sold its products using the business-to-business model, the majority of sales coming from large corporations, government entities, schools, and distributors. In 1990 Cisco became a public company; it had 251 employees at the time.
Cisco's sales skyrocketed as the internet took off in the 1990s. In order to improve their customer service and provide their customers with the latest in digital technology, the company began purchasing smaller technology companies from the niche markets to improve their overall product line. By 2001, Cisco had acquired more than seventy different companies and had taken on their employees in the process. The theory of "strategic acquisitions" drove the company's growth; it acquired businesses that have the skills or services their current customers need in order to grow more customers.
When Warrior arrived at Cisco in 2007, therefore, it was already one of the largest and most successful companies in history. After joining Cisco, Warrior worked with the other executives and trustees to improve strategic acquisitions. Her job was to ensure the company had the best technology it could to improve sales and service. Through tireless research, watching market trends and constantly exploring new partnerships, Warrior assessed the future technology needs of customers and determines which technology partners will help Cisco reach its goals. She thus worked to ensure that Cisco stayed on the top of the technology pile and hears and responds to the needs of its corporate customers. Under her watch the company continued to expand its ideas and customer base.
In her role as CTO of Cisco, Warrior created forward-thinking business models for her colleagues and coworkers. She continually improved and expanded on the company's technology affiliations and partnerships, bringing fresh ideas to an already extremely successful company. She was personally responsible for a large portion of Cisco's annual revenue through her many innovations and careful executive handling of associates. She oversaw more than twenty thousand Cisco engineers every day. In 2011, The Huffington Post referred to Warrior as "one of the most powerful women in Silicon Valley."
On June 26, 2012, Warrior took over the role of longtime Cisco chief strategist Ned Hooper, who left the company to start his own investment firm. Warrior's new responsibilities meant reducing her time with Cisco's thousands of engineers, turning her focus and energy to the company's technological future, and directing the company toward it. She often played the role of keynote speaker for Cisco, sharing her experience and wisdom with the company's employees and affiliates. She penned numerous articles and blog posts for the company website and worked to keep in touch with the customer base. In 2012, Warrior made a public announcement that she saw a "new Internet" developing with a focus on providing users with single platforms for new technology and media based on collaboration between different providers. She suggested that Cisco Systems would explore green solutions and quality platforms for video in the near future.
Warrior announced in June 2015 that she would be leaving Cisco. Later that year she joined NIO (previously known as NextEV), a Chinese-based automobile manufacturer, as CEO of its US operations. The company came to be known for its focus on electric vehicles as well as autonomous vehicle technology. Under Warrior's leadership, NIO was often referred to in the media as a key competitor of American automaker Tesla. NIO went public in September 2018, but just two months later, Warrior resigned her position.
Warrior founded Fable, a social reading and book club platform, in 2019. She also served as president and CEO and moderated one of the book clubs on the site.
In 2022 Forbes included Warrior on its list of 50 Over 50 Entrepreneurs.
Personal Life
Warrior married Mohandas Warrior, a successful chief executive officer for a laser manufacturing company. They had one son, Karna. Warrior sat on the boards of several organizations, including the Joffrey Ballet and the Museum of Science and Industry, as well as several advisory councils. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from New York Polytechnic. Warrior was also known to enjoy sculpting, writing haiku, reading, and attending the theater. Her favorite author was P. G. Wodehouse.
Bibliography
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Hamblen, Matt. "Q&A: CTO Says Video a Key Driver in Cisco's Strategic Decisions." ComputerWorld 10 May 2010. Web. 7 Aug. 2012.
Jourdan, Adam, and Yilei Sun. "Chinese Tesla Competitor NIO Loses Its US Chief Executive, Padmasree Warrior." Business Insider, 30 Nov. 2018,www.businessinsider.com/nio-us-ceo-padmasree-warrior-resigns-2018-11. Accessed 28 Oct. 2019.
"Padmasree Warrior." Forbes, 2022, www.forbes.com/profile/padmasree-warrior/?sh=69586b1565ed. Accessed 7 Mar. 2024.
"Padmasree Warrior." LinkedIn, 2024, www.linkedin.com/in/padmasree-warrior-9917a26b/. Accessed 7 Mar. 2024.
Paulson, Ed. Inside Cisco: The Real Story of Sustained M&A Growth. New York: Wiley, 2001. Print.
Sibley, Lisa. "Padmasree Warrior Replaces Ned Hooper as Cisco CTO." Business Journal 26 June 2012. Web. 8 Aug. 2012.
Tully, Shawn. "How Cisco Mastered the Net: You Think Amazon.com Is Big? The Real Money Online Is Business-to-Business Sales, and the King of Routers Is Writing the Manual." Fortune 17 Aug. 1998. Web. 8 Aug. 2012.
Warrior, Padmasree. "America's First CTO?" Interview by David Talbot. Technology Review 112.2 (2009): 28–29. Web. 9 Aug. 2012.
White, Bobby. "Top 50 Women to Watch in 2008." Wall Street Journal 10 Nov. 2008. Web. 8 Aug. 2012.