Meet the Team
We are seeking a highly motivated and results-driven Account Executive – Defence to join our Public Sector team. In this role, you will be responsible for driving Cisco's growth across India's Defence ecosystem by building trusted relationships with key defence organizations and stakeholders. You will serve as the strategic advisor for your accounts, helping customers accelerate secure digital transformation while delivering exceptional customer experience and business outcomes.
Your Impact
As a dynamic and passionate Account Executive, you will lead Cisco's sales strategy for the Defence sector, focusing on key organizations including the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), Defence manufacturing organizations, and strategic defence agencies.
This role goes beyond achieving sales targets; it is a strategic leadership position focused on driving modernization, cybersecurity, secure networking, AI adoption, cloud transformation, and mission-critical digital infrastructure across India's Defence ecosystem.
Key Responsibilities
• Drive sales of Cisco's comprehensive portfolio including Networking, Security, Collaboration, Data Center, Cloud, Observability, AI Infrastructure, and associated Services.
• Develop and execute strategic account plans aligned with Defence modernization initiatives, national security priorities, and digital transformation programs.
• Build trusted relationships with senior Defence leadership, procurement organizations, technology stakeholders, and system integrators, positioning Cisco as a long-term strategic technology partner.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including Systems Engineering, Architecture, Customer Experience, Services, Renewals, Partners, Government Affairs, and Commercial Finance to deliver integrated customer solutions.
• Lead complex, multi-stakeholder sales engagements while navigating Defence procurement processes, compliance requirements, and partner ecosystems.
• Own overall account success by driving customer satisfaction, revenue growth, strategic account expansion, and long-term business partnerships.
Minimum Qualifications
• 8+ years of enterprise sales experience with a strong focus on Defence, Ministry of Defence (MoD), Armed Forces, DRDO, DPSUs, Defence manufacturing organizations, or strategic Government accounts, with a consistent track record of business growth.
• Strong understanding of Defence procurement processes, government contracting, system integrator ecosystem, and public sector buying cycles.
• Demonstrated experience selling complex technology solutions including Networking, Cybersecurity, Data Center, Collaboration, Cloud, AI Infrastructure, and Digital Transformation solutions within highly regulated environments.
• Proven ability to build executive-level relationships across Defence leadership, technical stakeholders, and partner organizations while influencing strategic technology decisions.
• Experience using CRM tools such as Salesforce (SFDC) for pipeline management, forecasting, account planning, and sales execution.
• Strong consultative selling, executive engagement, and account planning skills, with the ability to manage complex, long sales cycles and deliver sustainable business growth.
Why Cisco?At Cisco, we’re revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era – and beyond. We’ve been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint.
Fueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you’ll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere.
We are Cisco, and our power starts with you.
Skills Required
- 8+ years of enterprise sales experience focused on Defence, MoD, Armed Forces, DRDO, DPSUs, or strategic government accounts
- Strong understanding of Defence procurement processes, government contracting, system integrator ecosystem, and public sector buying cycles
- Experience selling complex technology solutions including Networking, Cybersecurity, Data Center, Collaboration, Cloud, AI Infrastructure, and Digital Transformation in regulated environments
- Proven ability to build executive-level relationships across Defence leadership, technical stakeholders, and partner organizations and influence strategic technology decisions
- Experience using CRM tools such as Salesforce (SFDC) for pipeline management, forecasting, account planning, and sales execution
- Strong consultative selling, executive engagement, account planning skills, and ability to manage complex, long sales cycles
Cisco Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Cisco and has not been reviewed or approved by Cisco.
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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage is described as robust with multiple plan options and access to onsite/virtual LifeConnections Health Centers on major campuses. Company materials also highlight mental-health resources and comprehensive preventive care, supporting strong core medical benefits.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time away includes company‑wide recharge days, a paid birthday, a year‑end shutdown, and paid Critical Time Off for emergencies. Paid volunteer days further expand opportunities to step away and recharge.
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Parental & Family Support — Policies include a global minimum for paid parental leave for primary caregivers, caregiving concierge services, and on‑site children’s learning centers in select locations. In the U.S., family‑building support is consolidated under Carrot with a defined lifetime maximum, indicating structured assistance across fertility, preservation, adoption, and surrogacy.
Cisco Insights
What We Do
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) enables people to make powerful connections--whether in business, education, philanthropy, or creativity. Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create the Internet solutions that make networks possible--providing easy access to information anywhere, at any time. Cisco was founded in 1984 by a small group of computer scientists from Stanford University. Since the company's inception, Cisco engineers have been leaders in the development of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking technologies. Today, with more than 71,000 employees worldwide, this tradition of innovation continues with industry-leading products and solutions in the company's core development areas of routing and switching, as well as in advanced technologies such as home networking, IP telephony, optical networking, security, storage area networking, and wireless technology. In addition to its products, Cisco provides a broad range of service offerings, including technical support and advanced services. Cisco sells its products and services, both directly through its own sales force as well as through its channel partners, to large enterprises, commercial businesses, service providers, and consumers.
