Leadership is not simply a role that you fill; it is an action that you take each day. It is this philosophy that guides Cisco Canada President & CEO, Rola Dagher. Over her career of more than two decades, Dagher has worked with some of the brightest minds in the technology industry while honing her natural leadership style.
Dagher joined Cisco from Dell EMC where she held a variety of leadership roles in sales, channels and IT. Prior to this, she also held various sales leadership roles at Bell Canada for 15 years.
Since joining in 2017, Dagher has led Cisco Canada to quickly emerge as one of Cisco’s top globally performing regions. Yet Dagher will be the first to say that her success is a direct reflection of the dedication and drive of the entire Canadian operation. Dagher believes in diversity of thought and has made it her mission to empower and nurture employees, regardless of gender, culture, orientation or age.
Her commitment to empowering women is shown through her role as Americas President for Women of Cisco, a program that encourages more female participation in the technology industry, and through a range of additional work that defines her as a leader far beyond the technology sector.
Most recently, she was recognized as one of the 2020 Top 25 Women of Influence™, by WXN as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100™ and by Women in Communications and Technology (WCT) as the 2019 Woman of the Year. She was selected as one of RBC’s Top 25 Canadian Immigrant winners for 2019, was named the “Lady of the Cedar” by the Lebanese Embassy, and received a 2018 Leadership Award from the Lebanese Chamber Business of Commerce.
In addition to her role at Cisco, Dagher sits on the board of Cedars Cancer Foundation and is an advocate for pediatric and young adult cancer patients. She is an active member of the 30% Club and sits on the Circle of Champions for the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council, promoting growth through diversity in the workplace. A champion of mental health, Dagher sits on the foundation board for the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health.
As an active member of the Business Council of Canada and a member of the U.S.-Canada Innovation Partnership, Rola helps shape policy around the workforce of the future and promotes the adoption and acceleration of emerging technologies, innovation, and research.
Yet, through all of her accomplishments, Dagher firmly believes that no one achieves greatness in a silo. She believes that you have to “learn it, earn it, and return it.” And this process is one that she continues to work through at every stage of her career.