🎧 🧱 Raj Chopra | Building on Platform Shifts, SVP/CPO Cisco Security
Raj Chopra has seen it all in enterprise security, from building Netskope from the ground up to building Juniper's security business to now leading Cisco Security. Enjoy!
Our final Brick by Brick episode of 2024 features my friend Rajneesh Chopra, SVP and Chief Product Officer of Cisco's Security business unit. Raj and I met in 2014 when I was new to Silicon Valley and to tech. I was a BD Manager at Okta building our security partner ecosystem from the ground up and he was leading products at a then very nascent Netskope, now worth $7.5B and a juggernaut in cybersecurity.
In this episode of Brick by Brick, we talk about:
Platform shifts like on-prem to cloud and now AI, and how transformative they are for startups
Taking a non-traditional route to product leadership from engineering (via M&A/Strategy at Juniper)
The tight relationship between product management and product marketing in enterprise software businesses
When joining a startup is a "no-brainer" (special leader like Sanjay Beri + clear market pull)
How the founding of Netskope was born out of direct conversations with Juniper and Cisco customers telling the founders the future
How he leads teams today
How Cisco is thinking about AI both internally and in its product strategy
If you’re interested in how a special enterprise security product leader who has been a leader at all three phases of the tech world - early stage, scale-up, and large incumbent - thinks and leads, this one is for you!
I hope you enjoy the conversation! Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube!
If you have any comments on this episode, ideas for future episodes, or any feedback on the podcast, hit reply or email brickbybrick@garuda.vc!
Brick by Brick is presented by Garuda Ventures. Garuda Ventures is a B2B-focused pre-seed fund that aims to earn the right to be a founder's first call as they build their companies. To learn more, visit https://www.garuda.vc