Probably the best part about working at Cisco is the encouragement we are given to support our  giving back initiatives and trying to help the disadvantaged  in our communities. Our latest giving back adventure in Scotland is supporting Byte Night and the "Action for Children Charity"  and their fantastic cause of helping  disadvantaged children.  

So, here is the deal, the team will sleep on the streets of Glasgow on Friday October 5th, now if you know Scotland, if you know the Empire's 2nd city , and if you know Octobers in Glasgow….you will appreciate that it may be a little wet and a little windy and a little edgy  ….. however a heck of a lot of fun for just one night, although could not imagine having to do it every night with no other option.

All the sleepers are delighted to support this cause, as it not only resonates with us all as individuals, however is very much aligned with Cisco's corporate responsibility program . We have set ourselves a target of £5000 and we need your help to achieve this as Cisco will match any donations that we receive.

We are still recruiting and would love any volunteers from our customer or partner community to join us,  if not any donation no matter how small will be put to very good use.

THE SLEEPING SQUAD - EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE TEAM- A MUST READ 

Tony Gribben - Leader & Team Captain 

Tony a Cisco veteran is the Cisco Country Manager for Scotland  , originally from Airdrie who now lives in West Lothian and spends most of his personal time watching football as well as supporting his wife Rachel and their 2 daughters passion for horses transporting them up and down the country to compete in numerous equestrian events . As you can see from the Cisco Sleeping team  assembled for Byte Night this will be Tony's most challenging leadership role in his career to date. If you continue to read I am sure you will understand why that is likely to be the case

Joe O'Gorman

A real life Glessex boy, born and bred in Newton Mearns, Joe is responsible for Cisco's Data-Centre business in Scotland. Joe still lives in Newton Mearns (although he claims he is from Netherlee) with his wife Debbie and their 2 children Oliver and Maisy Jo.   Like most natives of suburbia Joe  gets a nose bleed when he exits the EastRen border. Joe in his spare time loves his football, his fast cars and his designer labels. The team cannot wait to see what logo is on his sleeping bag  :-)

Stuart Traynor

Stuart a Consulting Engineer in our Co-Creation practice is from East Kilbride,  Stuart recently moved on to the property ladder buying in his native East Kilbride, he is enjoying life as a homeowner so much he is currently saving his pennies so he can afford  his next move most likely to the upcoming trendy neighbourhood of  Strathbungo in Glasgow 's South side which is much more suited to his lifestyle. Stuart has a real passion for all things software and API's and when not enlightening us of whats happening in DevNet or showing us his Python skills, is another big football fan .  Like a lot of the sleepers Stuart has an interesting background that is not widely known , Stuart when a cash strapped student earned some extra cash by being part of a  One Direction tribute band that played the circuit in Glasgow.  Do you know who Stuart was in the band  ? 

Michael McCargo

Another Cisco veteran and regarded as an industry subject matter expert (that is his description of himself ) as you would expect there are not many Cisco networks in Scotland that Michael's technical expertise has not been leveraged by our customers and partners. Michael who is a  proud Cardee  (Cardonald) boy now lives in the leafy suburbs of Giffnock with his other half Clare, and their 3 children Hannah, Emma and Matthew. A couple of bits of trivia about Michael that may be of interest and show his versatility, Michael was an extra in the Glasgow based movie Neds  ALSO he is currently  head coach of his sons U-13  football team . His results to date suggest he is a much better engineer than football coach.

Alex Brown

Alex who is Operations Director for Cisco's UK&I Public Sector business is originally from Brigton in Glasgow . He has now moved to  the beautiful suburb of Thorntonhall where he lives with his very understanding wife Helen and their 4 children as well as their 2 dugs (Mungo and Shug). Alex who is a very keen golfer however spends most of his personal time providing cab services to his kids as well as being the families designated dog walker. Alex was by far the easiest recruit  for this event as getting a night off from his family duties as well as a good nights sleep was just to good an opportunity to miss.

Colin McMillan

Colin  who has been at Cisco for over 20 years and has had many senior technical roles, Colin originally from Sunny Coatbridge  (sorry Airdrie ) now living in the borders is the Technical Director responsible for our Security practice in EMEAR. Colin's role as you can imagine involves a lot of travel visiting lots of different counties and customers  however as his role suggests he cannot tell you where he currently is as he is sworn to secrecy. 

Steve McKee

Steve originally from Ayrshire and another resident of Giffnock  where he stays with his wife Eileen and  their 2 children Connor and Orla. I'm sure most of you know Steve who is a legend in the IT industry in Scotland. Steve who by his own admission is a complete technology geek and spends his spare time making sure he keeps up his geek status. The  Cisco team in Scotland have tried their best to get him interested in normal things like football, golf and music although his recently acquired interest in politics is nothing to do with us.

Pete Hall

Pete who is our internal IT Manager and originally from the North of England who now lives in the Peebles in the Scottish borders.  Pete is known internally  as Mr Cisco because of his  "Action Man"  lifestyle . Pete is always always putting his body through the mill either climbing, running or cycling . Pete in his spare time also  provides voluntarily Mountain rescue services  and has been recognised as a real hero on a number of occasions so a wee night out taking on the Glasgow elements should not be to demanding for him. Pete has agreed to take on the role of Operations Director for this event.

             
Finlay Hall

Finlay is Pete's son  who is a S2 student at George Watsons school in Edinburgh . Finlay who like his Old Man is very competitive and his current passion is helping the School Hockey team win the Scottish cup. Pete has volunteered Finlay not only because he shares  the same principles about helping the disadvantaged but more tactically we will be able to call on the skills he has gained as a member of the  Cardronna Scouts  to personally provide support to the more fragile members of our team to  complete the task in hand (Cisco Account Manager's spring to mind ). As you read through the biographies of the team I think Finlay is going have his work cut out on the 5th.

David O'Neil

David who hails from Bathgate is known as Mr Corporate Responsibility in Cisco and always volunteering for any event that involves giving back to the community . David in his spare time gets rid of all his frustration by banging a BIG drum in his local pipe band in Bathgate and is widely recognised in Cisco as somebody who enjoys life to the fullest although I suspect he may be somebody to call on Pete and Finlay's help to get him through the night if we can get him out of the many surrounding Glasgow bars.

Colin Duffy

Colin  is a Territory Manager in Cisco's Customer Experience Business based in Scotland is married to Anne Marie with 2 grown up children Dominic and Gemma. Colin was born and bred in Cleland and still lives there and is proud  grandfather to Archie with another grandchild pending. Colin is a MASSIVE football fan who also loves his horse racing and a round of golf at Wishaw Gold club where he is  a member. Colin has had to ask for permission from Kelly's Bar in Cleland to be excused from Friday night Karaoke to join us in the  Big Smoke for Byte Night.

Simon Dealey

Simon is a Manager in Cisco's Customer Experience Business based in Scotland responsible for Field Services and Trade Management.  He is recently married to Yolanda and share their home with heir dog Che. Originally from Coleraine in Northern Ireland  he left to go to University in Edinburgh and never returned and has lived in Scotland Switzerland and Netherlands over the last 20 years. Simon returned to Scotland having settling in beautiful  Dalgety Bay . Simon is a huge film buff and football afficiando and for his sins  follows the fortunes of Arsenal. Although he does not appear as a natural athlete  he was recently seen doing back flips and somersaults when Arsene Wenger's exit from Arsenal was announced .  He has recently developed an enjoyment of DIY and decorating , this may or may not be linked to his frustration with Arsene Wenger

John Martin

John " Wey Eye Man" Martin looks after Cisco's Education sector in Scotland and as a proud Geordie has refused to introduce any hint of a  Scottish twang to his broad sometimes non understandable  Geordie accent despite living here for the last 20 years. John is taking Byte Night very seriously and has been on an intense training regime in preparation, although the team are not convinced that the hiring of a personal trainer, the daily yoga and step sessions are going to help him take on the Glasgow elements although it has to said he is looking in great shape. J ohn in his heyday was a frequent reveller in the Bigg Market in Newcastle where real men wear cap sleeve T Shirts in December so Glasgow in October should not be an issue to him. 

Paul Quinn

Team Recruiter, another veteran of Cisco and Paul's role has been to put this team together so that we have a chance of making our target of £5000 and a result of taking on this task has been spared any slandering in the biographies part of the page and to be honest if you have read to the end of this story you have to much spare time :-).