Wim Elfrink

Wim Elfrink is Cisco’s executive vice president for industry solutions and chief globalization officer. In this role, he is responsible for three global functions at Cisco: the industry solutions group, the emerging countries initiatives, and the company's globalization strategy. Elfrink is an executive officer and sits on Cisco's operating committee.

Elfrink joined Cisco in 1997 assuming global responsibility for Cisco Services Europe. In 2000, he was promoted to senior vice president of Cisco Services, and under his leadership, the business grew from $3.3 billion to more than $7.6 billion in 2010.

Elfrink was appointed chief globalization officer in 2006 and was named executive vice president in 2007. He went on to establish Cisco's Globalisation Centre East (GCE) in Bangalore, India. Over four years, Elfrink grew the GCE into Cisco’s second world headquarters, an innovation hub and the company’s smartest and most sustainable campus with more than 10,000 employees. Before joining Cisco, Elfrink held management positions at Olivetti, Xerox, HP, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and Philips.

Elfrink is recognized as Cisco’s corporate entrepreneur-in-residence and is responsible for leading Cisco’s company-wide efforts in support of the “The Internet of Everything” (IoE) and “The Internet of Things” (IoT). A core focus of Elfrink’s global charter is to identify significant technology opportunities for city, country and business transformation in emerging countries that are experiencing significant economic, social and environmental change.

Elfrink is an active board member of the US India Business Council, the Silatech Board in Qatar, the New Cities Foundation, and the Chongqing Mayor's International Economic Advisory Group. In 2009, Daily News & Analysis, a leading Indian newspaper, named Elfrink one of Bangalore’s 50 Most Influential People, one of 12 from the corporate world and the only non-Indian to be featured. In 2013, he was the recipient of the Ambassador C. Howard Wilkins, Jr., Award from the Netherlands-America Foundation.

Elfrink holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from the Institute of Technology in Rotterdam, Netherlands.