Hi! I’m Daria Maggi, and I am a Consulting Engineer in the Professional Services Team at CX Centers Lisbon. Let me briefly tell you about my journey at Cisco.
I joined Cisco Portugal in September 2021 through the CX Academy Program. As part of this program all graduates experience during a period of time the different roles and teams at CX Centers. So, after my rotation in the Technical Assistant Center Team (TAC), I started working as a Consulting Engineer. First with Datacenter and then with Security technology – which better matched my academic path and research interests. Now, my role consists in supporting security technologies such as Firewalls, SecureX, Automation, and others.
Another fact about me is that I am always curious to connect and learn from others. By working so closely with my team in Portugal and our corresponding team in Cisco Poland, I’m able to exchange knowledge, collaborate, learn and help others. I guess this is one of the advantages of working in an intercultural environment such as Cisco – we are always learning and connecting with colleagues from all over the world.
Keep reading to get to know me a bit better.
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What do you like to do in your free time? Do you have any special hobbies?
If yes, which ones?
When did you start?
Actually, I do have one that started a few weeks after I joined Cisco. I had always wanted to learn how to ride a horse, but never had a chance – always lived in the middle of the historical centre, and pursued more artistically-versed hobbies. One of my new colleagues suggested an instructor she had worked with when she was younger. At the time, I did TAC rotations, so I was free after 3 pm. I booked my first class – and I was hooked! I worked with a pony called Champalimaud (“Pollo” for friends) and building the trust between the two of us was one of the most rewarding challenges of my life.
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Do you have any hidden talents you’d like to share?
It is not something that has a particularly direct link to my professional life at Cisco, but on my free time, I studied Latin and Ancient Greek for a good 8 years (the latter I can still translate). Learning about classical history, literature and philosophy as a teenager shaped my mindset and left a mark of inquisitiveness in the way I approach life, even though nowadays I work in a completely different field.
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Since you started working at Cisco, can you recall an experience or a moment you have kept as a special memory?
Little less than a month after I started filing my Customer Billable Unit (CBU) (i.e. working on Professional Services projects as a full-time engineer), an urgent request came up for two engineers to provide in-person training about security to a high-stake customer. I volunteered – and my manager trusted me to take this on, with the support of a senior colleague. Emmanuel Cano Gutierrez helped me tremendously not only in making sure that the technical part went flawlessly, but also on the soft skill side – he was the best mentor I could ask for. Meeting customers in person was exciting, and we spent what could be described as the five most technically exciting days of my professional life. This is the beauty of my role – we have a direct link with customers, and we help each other out.
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Can you give us a few examples of how you help drive innovation at Cisco?
Curiosity is my sin – and luckily for me, Cisco culture nurtures and encourages you to think outside of the box and look for chances to innovate in your work life. During my first year and a half at Cisco, I was exposed to different innovation hubs and teams: Tech Council, Cisco Poland Innovation Hub, the Women’s Inventors network cohort. One of the best moments of my time here in Cisco Portugal was the submission of an innovation disclosure in the Cisco Intellectual Property Online (CPOL) platform together with Shaden and Deepa, two Professional Services colleagues from Cisco Egypt and Cisco India respectively.
In my own team, innovation is made possible by the constant sharing of new ideas, best practices and experiences. At the end, I believe that the ‘secret sauce’ to Cisco innovation is exactly this priceless team mindset, that is embedded in you from day one.
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