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Karen Walker is senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Cisco Systems. She was elected to the Eli Lilly and Company board of directors in 2018.

Based in San Jose, Walker is responsible for the company's marketing and communications group. Her 20-plus years in the IT industry have included senior field and marketing leadership roles in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. Prior to joining Cisco, she held multiple business and consumer leadership positions at Hewlett-Packard.

Walker holds a bachelor of science degree with joint honors in chemistry and business studies from Loughborough University in England and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from the University of Sunderland in 2018.

She is a board member and CMO Growth Council member of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). Walker was recognized by Forbes as one of the Top 15 Most Influential CMOs in the World in 2017 and 2018. She also sponsors multiple initiatives to accelerate female leadership within Cisco and is a strong supporter of the #SeeHer movement, started by the ANA with the goal of accurately portraying women and girls in the media by 2020. Walker also serves on the advisory council for the Salvation Army of Silicon Valley.