Laura K. Ipsen is Senior Vice President of Global Policy and Government Affairs for Cisco. Since 1996, she has been responsible for developing Cisco’s public policy agenda and managing government affairs activities worldwide. In addition, she is a cochair of Cisco’s EcoBoard, focusing on Cisco initiatives and leadership on environmental issues, and she leads the company’s Women’s Advisory Group, which identifies and recommends gender-focused strategies in partnership with the Inclusion and Diversity Council.

Ipsen is the chair of the board of directors for the Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC), and serves on the board of the European American Business Council, the Public Affairs Council, and the Technology Board for Pacific Research Institute. She is the past president and chair of the board of the Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT).

Prior to Cisco, Ipsen worked in government affairs and international trade for Hitachi Data Systems and Acer Corp. She began her career in government affairs and international trade with PricewaterhouseCoopers.  Ipsen holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of Virginia and studied Arabic at Yarmouk University in Jordan.

   Patrick S. Finn

   Vice President

   U.S. Federal Operations

   Cisco

Patrick S. Finn is responsible for leading Cisco's business operations in support of the U.S. Federal Government, including the Department of Defense, civilian agencies, and the intelligence commmunity.  With more than 24 years of technoloogy and business experience, he is a strong advocate for applying IT and networking best practices to solve Government IT challenges and improve productivity.

A 13-year veteran of Cisco, Finn most recently was Vice President of vertical markets for U.S. and Canada, where he drove a cross-functional growth strategy for State/Local government, education, healthcare, retail, sports and entertainment, and real estate.  He also served as Vice President of Cisco's New York Metro Area, overseeing all global and national sales, support, and engineering for Cisco customers headquartered in New York City and Long Island.

Prior to joining Cisco, Finn was responsible for Pepsi Cola International's worldwide infrastructure, consulting, and network applications. He also held various sales leadership positions at IBM Corporation.

Finn holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management Information Systems from Pace University, and a Master of Science degree from Polytechnic University.  He and his wife, Maureen, enjoy raising their 8 year old daughter, Melanie.