SAN JOSE, Calif. -- With political outsiders running hot in the current Presidential elections, former Cisco CEO John Chambers might seem like a natural choice for a political bid himself.
Chambers, who currently serves as Cisco's executive chairman, is no stranger to politics. He co-chaired John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. So will he run himself?
"I thought about it ten years ago, but I decided not to. I love business too much," Chambers tells Light Reading. He says he would have run for state governorship, and then sought a Cabinet post. But he decided against it.
Instead, Chambers is using his role as executive chairman at Cisco to work with governments and business on using technology to change the world. "That's what I love doing," he said.
Chambers describes himself as a moderate Republican who works closely with Democrats, and noted that that particular political breed is having a tough time in the party.
Which is not to say Chambers doesn't have political views. At executive briefings with Cisco executives here Tuesday, Chambers made a short, tangential, but passionate pitch for the US to develop a national technology business policy.
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"During the 1990s this country led in the Internet age," Chambers said, crediting President Clinton -- from "the other party" -- with a leadership role, helping create value and jobs.
"We are not leading in this digital era," Chambers said. "We are not going with a policy of broadband to every American." The US needs to create an environment that feeds startups and creates a new workforce, as "every other country" has done, he said, naming the UK, Israel, Italy, China and India as examples.
"The US is behind on this one and it's something we've got to move much faster on," Chambers said.
— Mitch Wagner,


, West Coast Bureau Chief, Light Reading. Got a tip about SDN or NFV? Send it to [email protected].