Willa Black, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Cisco Canada

Great Ideas in Unusual Places

We all have them. But often, we don’t know what to do with them. Great ideas are one thing. But great ideas coupled with passionate stewardship, stakeholder buy in and solid execution can move mountains and inspire thousands. Through her dedication to brand, Corporate Social Responsibility and community, Willa Black, Vice President Corporate Affairs at Cisco Systems lives the Cisco credo of “think smarter, do more with less, and create big impact in more creative ways.” Drawing on 30 years of Marketing and PR experience, Willa will share her insights on how you can set yourself apart in your organization by championing your big ideas. With humour, passion and candour, she will tell the story of her career journey creating award-winning programming, and being a relentless brand champion. She will also share insights into the sources of her inspiration, family, friends, and the world around her, and above all, why the grass is greener on her side.

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Highlights

• Influencing means having the ability to motivate others to act.
• Flaws are important, they help us achieve great things and unleash our ability to succeed; they “let the light in”.
• Be honest about your strengths and understand how to work them to your advantage.
• Finding the right place to develop yourself is key to success.

Bio

As Vice-President, Corporate Affairs for Cisco Canada, Willa Black is responsible for strategies designed to promote Cisco’s external brand awareness and relevance across key constituencies. She also leads programming in support of Cisco’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, reinforcing the company’s role as an organization committed to social advancement across governments, nongovernmental organizations, and communities of all kinds.

Since joining Cisco in 1999, she has developed and led groundbreaking, award-winning programming including the Globe and Mail Business Incubator and most recently, the One Million Acts of Green campaign in partnership with the CBC. Thousands of Canadians participated in this national challenge to drive personal commitment towards environmental sustainability, logging in excess of 1.8 million “green acts.”

A 30-year veteran of the public relations and marketing industry, Black began her career at Ogilvy & Mather Advertising in Toronto. This was followed by 14 years at Royal Trust/Royal Bank where she was Director, Public Affairs for the Wealth Management division, RBC.

Black holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from Williams College in Massachusetts, USA