Leslie McKnew

Leslie McKnew is Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, leading Cisco’s Regulatory Affairs organization with Cisco’s Legal department. She leads a team of more than 60 lawyers, operational specialists, program managers, engineers, and subject matter experts who are focused on a broad range of regulatory topics, including, among others, data and privacy, global trade, cybersecurity, ESG, Responsible AI, human rights, environmental affairs, and telecommunications. The Regulatory Affairs team is responsible for policies and strategies to navigate regulatory frameworks across the world.

Ms McKnew has held several other leadership roles at Cisco. She led Cisco’s global litigation and employment law teams, as well as the legal team focused on Cisco’s data and collaboration businesses. Leslie also spent a year in a business role focused on developing and launching software buying programs. She joined Cisco as its first in-house trademark counsel and built the trademark function and team.

In her role, Ms McKnew has been recognized as a key leader in supporting Cisco’s transformational journey, managing strong team performance, developing exceptional talent, driving key transformational capabilities, and supporting her business partners.

Prior to Cisco, she was an associate at the Morgan Lewis law firm focused on IP and commercial litigation. She has a BA degree in Political Science from the University of California, Davis, and graduated from the University of San Francisco School of Law.