David Ashley

SVP, Product Operations

David Ashley is the Senior Vice President of Product and Component Operations at Cisco Systems. His global organization of 1000+ has the responsibility for end-to-end life cycle management of all Cisco branded products and components with a heavy emphasis on new product market launches. He manages the integration of the development and fulfillment supply chains to support all delivery and consumption models. His organization is the primary interface between Supply Chain Operations and all Business Units within Cisco.

In his current role, David’s responsibilities have expanded to include Component Operations, which is the development through manufacturing of Cisco’s silicon and optics components business. He also leads the development and implementation of the supply chain strategy to support enterprise goals. His strong leadership will lead Cisco through a transformational change to optimize the performance and efficiency of product operations, component operations, supply chain, and related functions globally.

Previously, David Ashley led Cisco’s Technology and Quality organization, a global team responsible for delivering customer-driven quality and reliability solutions supporting Cisco’s development supply chain. The team is committed to driving a competitive advantage for Cisco by ensuring innovation and excellence in manufacturing technology, test and component engineering, advanced technology development, and closed-loop quality management. He launched several key initiatives with his team that championed improvements throughout the manufacturing process and extended visibility and collaboration deeper into the global supply chain while raising the bar on quality.

Before Cisco, David held various leadership positions throughout the supply chain. He led the transformation of the Product Operations team, which increased the organization’s scope beyond new product introduction to include the total product lifecycle. He also managed the Service Provider and Enterprise engagement.

Prior to Cisco, David held various management and engineering positions at Lucent Technologies and AT&T, starting his career as a design engineer for Bell Labs responsible, for the design of telecommunication systems.

David has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.

His wife, Karen Ashley, is a Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions at Cisco. They have two children together, a daughter and a son. They enjoy skiing and spending time together outdoors as a family.

David Ashley is the Senior Vice President of Product and Component Operations at Cisco Systems. His global organization of 1000+ has the responsibility for end-to-end life cycle management of all Cisco branded products and components with a heavy emphasis on new product market launches. He manages the integration of the development and fulfillment supply chains to support all delivery and consumption models. His organization is the primary interface between Supply Chain Operations and all Business Units within Cisco.

In his current role, David’s responsibilities have expanded to include Component Operations, which is the development through manufacturing of Cisco’s silicon and optics components business. He also leads the development and implementation of the supply chain strategy to support enterprise goals. His strong leadership will lead Cisco through a transformational change to optimize the performance and efficiency of product operations, component operations, supply chain, and related functions globally.

Previously, David Ashley led Cisco’s Technology and Quality organization, a global team responsible for delivering customer-driven quality and reliability solutions supporting Cisco’s development supply chain. The team is committed to driving a competitive advantage for Cisco by ensuring innovation and excellence in manufacturing technology, test and component engineering, advanced technology development, and closed-loop quality management. He launched several key initiatives with his team that championed improvements throughout the manufacturing process and extended visibility and collaboration deeper into the global supply chain while raising the bar on quality.

Before Cisco, David held various leadership positions throughout the supply chain. He led the transformation of the Product Operations team, which increased the organization’s scope beyond new product introduction to include the total product lifecycle. He also managed the Service Provider and Enterprise engagement.

Prior to Cisco, David held various management and engineering positions at Lucent Technologies and AT&T, starting his career as a design engineer for Bell Labs responsible, for the design of telecommunication systems.

David has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.

His wife, Karen Ashley, is a Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions at Cisco. They have two children together, a daughter and a son. They enjoy skiing and spending time together outdoors as a family.