TiiCKER’s Sweet 16 CEOs Competition and Sweepstakes, a competition that pits CEOs – representing both their alma maters and the publicly traded companies they lead – against each other while offering chances to win valuable prizes, is officially underway. In this Mid-Atlantic matchup, the North Carolina Tarheels, represented by alum Charles Robbins, Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems Inc. (Tii:CSCO), will face James Farley, President & CEO of Ford Motor Co. (Tii:F), and proud graduate of Georgetown University.
Over his 20 years at Cisco, Robbins has served as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Field Operations, where he led the Worldwide Sales and Partner Organizations and helped drive and execute many of the company’s investment areas and strategy shifts. He also served as Senior Vice President of The Americas, Cisco’s largest geographic region; Senior Vice President of U.S. Enterprise, Commercial and Canada; Senior Vice President of U.S. Commercial Sales; and Segment Vice President, U.S. and Canada channel organization, where he helped build the industry’s most powerful partner program.
Before joining Cisco, he held management positions at Bay Networks and Ascend Communications. A strong supporter of the UNC Tar Heels, Robbins has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a computer science concentration from the University of North Carolina.
James D. Farley, Jr., took over the reins at the auto giant on October 1, 2020, and is focused on accelerating Ford’s transformation. In his previous role as Chief Operating Officer, Farley worked to strengthen Ford’s automotive operations, overseeing all of Ford’s global markets and automotive operations, including Product Development, Purchasing, Enterprise Product Line Management, Manufacturing & Labor Affairs, Marketing, Sales & Service, and Quality & New Model Launch. He also oversaw Mobility Partnerships and Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC.
Farley also represents Ford on the U.S. China Business Council Board of Directors and has been appointed co-chair of the Future of Mobility Commission. Representing the Hoyas, Farley earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Georgetown University.
Which exec will earn the victory? Check back for recaps and the next round matchups! Sweet 16 CEOs Competition winners will be chosen based on a variety of factors tied to company performance. The best part is you can win too! In the spirit of March Madness, tell us which team you are cheering for and why you are cheering for them. You will be entered for a chance to win one of four Benzinga.com Essential memberships for 12 months. That’s a $1400 value EACH. Click here to participate. See official terms.