John Chambers of USA, Cisco chairman emeritus, formerly with Wang Labs., ex US India Business council chairman, is named for Padma Bhushan, third-highest civilian award of India

Last updated on 11th Mar. 2019

Today I read an interview of John Chambers in The Hindu: Protectionism has never worked in the long run, says Cisco chair emeritus, https://www.thehindu.com/business/protectionism-has-never-worked-in-the-long-run/article26106009.ece, 27th Jan. 2019. It mentioned that Chambers has been recently named for the Padma Bhushan by the Govt. of India.

John Chambers. Pic courtesy: http://busecon.wvu.edu/speaker_series/john_chambers.htm

I am very happy to know that John Chambers has been honoured by the govt. of India in this fashion. I have seen some of his video interviews and talks, and read quite a few text interviews of his, like the above. I get the impression that he is a genuine friend of India, and seems to have significantly contributed to growth of USA India business ties.

I have a soft corner for John Chambers as he was with Wang Labs., Lowell, Massauchusetts, USA, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Laboratories, during the stints I had with Wang Labs in the second half of the 1980s.  But I do not recall coming across his name then. His wiki page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_T._Chambers, states that he joined Wang Labs. in 1983 (when he was 34 years old) and left Wang in 1991 to join Cisco.

He grew to fame as Cisco's CEO catapulting Cisco from tens of millions of dollars revenue company to tens of billions of dollars revenue company known internationally as a networking and telecommunications giant, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco_Systems.

I am so happy that a former Wang Labs. man from the USA has been awarded a significant civilian honour by my country, India.
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I received a few replies over email, mostly from ex Datamatics colleagues that I had sent the mail to, on this post's contents and one response on Facebook. Some were not aware of John Chambers' association with Wang Labs. I intend to explore that in another post. But most replies conveyed happiness on knowing about Chambers being named in this award list. Note that the awards are handed out usually in March or April at Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's Mansion) by the President of India.

To see the Padma awardees list, visit https://padmaawards.gov.in/SelectionGuidelines.aspx. Click on "2019 Awardees List" to see PDF file with press note dated 25th Jan. 2019. There is no description/citation for the awards mentioned here, though the field is mentioned.

The entry for John Chambers is:

  5. Shri John Chambers (Foreigner), Trade & Industry - Technology, USA
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John T. Chambers tweet: "It's a tremendous honor to receive the Padma Bhushan award. I’ve always believed in India & it’s been incredible seeing the transition the country has made from slow follower to fast innovator. I’m lucky to be part of this incredible success story.",
https://twitter.com/JohnTChambers/status/1088901135929233408, 25th Jan. 2019

I commented (replied) in the above tweet as follows:
Congratulations sir! As an Indian who was associated with Wang Labs., Lowell, MA, USA through the Mumbai company Datamatics in second half of 1980s, I and other former colleagues of mine are very happy to see an ex Wang Labs USA man get named for this Padma Bhushan award. ...

...  A former software labs. student of mine from a deemed university in South India, who served in Cisco India, also is very happy. Thank you sir for your contribution to better USA - India ties.
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Cisco’s John Chambers Named For Padma Bhushan Award, https://inc42.com/buzz/ciscos-john-chambers-named-for-padma-bhushan-award/, dated 26th Jan. 2019

The above article mentions that Chambers has been a vocal supporter of the Indian startup ecosystem, and that he has helped a couple of Indian startups expand to US markets.

I have been reading articles and even viewed videos of his, where he, as a leader of the US India Business Council, has been very supportive of India-USA business ties. As an example of it, here's a relevant 2 year old article: India-US partnership has never been more important: John Chambers, https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/india-us-partnership-has-never-been-more-important-john-chambers-2314329.html, 29th Jan. 2017.

The article quotes Chambers as saying, in the context of a meeting then between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "Both governments are deeply committed to creating greater economic opportunity for their citizens" .. "The partnership between the US and India has never been more important".

I have seen pics of Chambers meeting PM Modi in Delhi and elsewhere, shared on PM Modi's and others' social media feed.

Given this background, I think the current Indian government would have felt that Chambers' contribution to India in trade and industry (technology) as well as in improving USA - India business ties, makes him deserving of India's third-highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan.

[I thank busecon.wvu.edu and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above pic of John Chambers from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]