Savera Sharma
Pleasanton,CA
Summary
Transformational and strategic executive leader skilled in navigating ambiguity, building operational frameworks, and driving large-scale customer success in fast-paced tech environments. Proven track record of influencing C-suite decision-making, stabilizing high-risk enterprise accounts, and driving multi-billion-dollar portfolio growth. Expert in aligning product innovation with customer vision while leading organizational strategy across talent acquisition, employee development, and diversity initiatives.
Overview
1
1
Certification
20
20
years of professional experience
Work History
Sr. Manager - Enterprise Networking Group
CISCO SYSTEMS
San Jose, CA
01.2021 - Current
- Executive Sponsorship & Revenue Protection: Direct the Executive Sponsorship program for 23+ strategic accounts across the US, EU, and Asia, directly supporting over $5B in annual recurring revenue.
- C-Suite Advisory: Cultivate strategic C-level relationships to deeply align Cisco’s product and software roadmaps with client digital transformation initiatives.
- Roadblock Removal & Acceleration: Act as the primary engineering liaison to resolve high-risk account escalations, fast-track product features, and ensure delivery on high-stakes commitments.
- Adoption & Value Realization: Drive customer interlocks to identify adoption barriers, accelerating time-to-value for enterprise technology deployments.
Manager – Enterprise Networking Group
CISCO SYSTEMS
San Jose, CA
01.2016 - 01.2021
- Organizational Strategy & Talent: Led talent development, hiring, onboarding, retention, and DEI strategy for a global 4,000-person engineering organization. Managed budget, headcount, and demand planning in partnership with HR, Talent Acquisition, and Finance.
- Employee Experience Innovation: Founded the group’s Inclusion and Leadership Board and launched impactful retention programs, including the Engineering Rotation Program and Recent Grad Experience.
- Product & Engineering Alignment: Led co-development efforts, executive briefings, and competitive product demos, coordinating cross-functionally across engineering, sales, services, and product management.
- High-Risk Account Escalations: Spearheaded end-to-end customer engagement strategy for top-tier accounts within a $16B+ enterprise portfolio, directly stabilizing $400M in strategic client revenue.
Program Manager – Cisco Commerce Workspace
CISCO SYSTEMS
San Jose, CA
01.2010 - 01.2016
- Led Sales Engagement team as primary point of contact for Cisco Commerce Quote and Order (CCO) organization, facilitating communication and support.
- Coordinated global business and IT teams across sales, channels, and finance to achieve consensus on pricing, offer, and business model shifts across 1-tier, 2-tier, and direct channels.
- Orchestrated monthly system enhancements and partner enablement initiatives to streamline processes and improve channel partner satisfaction.
Project Manager – Sales Finance (Pricing & Discounting)
CISCO SYSTEMS
San Jose, CA
01.2007 - 01.2010
- Acted as single point of contact between finance and sales stakeholders to finalize requirements for partner certification and wholesale pricelist updates, maintaining alignment and clarity.
- Led cross-functional teams to manage project timelines and deliverables.
- Streamlined 1-Tier and 2-Tier sales qualification processes by designing and maintaining project plans for Qualification Optimization initiative.
- Developed project plans using Agile methodologies and collaboration tools.
- Facilitated regular status meetings to align team objectives and progress updates.
Education
LEAD Executive Education - Strategy & Entrepreneurship
Stanford University GSB
12-2027
MBA - Marketing
Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business
BS - Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
California Polytechnic State University
SLOSkills
- C-Suite Engagement
- High-Risk Escalation Management
- Customer Success
- Strategic Partnerships
- Organizational Strategy
- Revenue Forecasting
- Process Optimization
- Hiring & Onboarding
- Talent Development
- Development & Retention
Certification
- Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
- Project Management Professional (PMP)
- Certified Dance Instructor
Early Career Experience
- Business Technology Analyst, Deloitte Consulting, 01/01/05, 12/31/07
- IT Analyst Intern, Agilent Technologies, 01/01/02, 12/31/05
- Oracle Programmer Intern, Alameda Alliance for Health, 01/01/02, 12/31/03
Timeline
Sr. Manager - Enterprise Networking Group
CISCO SYSTEMS
01.2021 - Current
Manager – Enterprise Networking Group
CISCO SYSTEMS
01.2016 - 01.2021
Program Manager – Cisco Commerce Workspace
CISCO SYSTEMS
01.2010 - 01.2016
Project Manager – Sales Finance (Pricing & Discounting)
CISCO SYSTEMS
01.2007 - 01.2010
LEAD Executive Education - Strategy & Entrepreneurship
Stanford University GSB
MBA - Marketing
Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business
BS - Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
California Polytechnic State University