John Morgridge

John P. Morgridge
Born	1933 Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, executive, philanthropist, educator
Years active	1950s–present
Known for	CEO and chairman of Cisco Systems

John P. Morgridge (born 1933) is an American entrepreneur known for his leadership roles as CEO and chairman at Cisco Systems.

Early life and education

Born to educators L. D. Morgridge and Ruth Gordon Morgridge, he was raised in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin and attended Wauwatosa East High School. His early work experience included positions in a cannery, quarry, brewery, road construction, and as a railroad brakeman. Morgridge completed his undergraduate studies with a BA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1955, followed by an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1957.

Career

Before joining Cisco, Morgridge held roles at Stratus Computer and Honeywell Information Systems, eventually becoming president and COO of GRiD Systems. In 1988, he became the second CEO and chairman of Cisco, which at that time was a young company just four years old with only 34 employees. He passed the CEO role to John Chambers in 1995 and stepped down as chairman in 2006. Under his guidance, Cisco expanded significantly to employ 50,000 people worldwide across 77 countries by the time of his retirement.

Philanthropy

The University Center for Community Service at the University of Wisconsin–Madison was renamed the Morgridge Center for Public Service in 1996 after receiving a major endowment from Morgridge to enhance its community engagement efforts.

In 2006, the Morgridges donated $50 million to create a collaborative public-private initiative linking the Morgridge Institute for Research with the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery.

Their philanthropic efforts continued in 2010 with a $175 million gift establishing the Fund for Wisconsin Scholars, which provides financial aid to low-income students attending public colleges and universities in Wisconsin. The Morgridge Family Foundation has also supported institutions such as Immanuel Lutheran School, Mount Olive Lutheran Church, along with various educational and volunteer organizations.

John Morgridge attributes his personal philosophy to strong community values and stresses the importance of contributing back to society.

He holds positions on multiple corporate and nonprofit boards including the Nature Conservancy and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, served as a trustee at Stanford University from 2002 to 2007, and currently teaches management courses at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Alongside his wife, he has joined The Giving Pledge, committing to donate most of their wealth to charitable causes.

Personal life

Morgridge married his high school sweetheart, Tashia Frankfurth, who worked as a special education teacher and is the great-granddaughter of William Frankfurth, co-founder of the German-English Academy (now known as the University School of Milwaukee). The couple has two grown children; they also had a second son who passed away from leukemia.

He appeared in the 2011 documentary film Something Ventured.

Honors and recognition

• 1991 – Wisconsin Distinguished Business Alumnus Award
• 1996 – Arbuckle Award from Stanford Graduate School of Business
• 2005 – Distinguished Alumni Award presented by the Wisconsin Alumni Association
• 2007 – Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement
• 2012 – Regents’ Award for Distinguished Service to the University of Wisconsin System
• 2015 – James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award
• 2017 – TECH CORPS Leadership in Technology Award

External links

• Profile provided by The Nature Conservancy
• Profile offered by Cisco Systems