Julissa Benavente

Julissa Benavente, a tech-savvy strategist with a deep understanding of technology and a proven track record of implementing strategies at the global scale, has an impressive professional background. She possesses a strong combination of business, product, and technology expertise that enables her to think strategically about critical business challenges. Julissa has worked in several domains, including edge and cloud infrastructure, computer vision, mobile infrastructure (5G), SDN/NFV, digital video services, WAN/DC networking, network security, cloud management, and storage.

Julissa has several educational backgrounds, including Wharton Executive Education: Strategic Thinking and Management for Competitive Advantage at the University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School, Strategic Decisions and Risk Management Program at Stanford University, MSc in Engineering, Industrial Engineering at The Institute of Technology at Linköping University, and an MBA in International Business at Vlerick Business School.

Currently, Julissa works at Western Digital, where she serves as the Corporate Strategy & Development. Before joining Western Digital, Julissa had held different positions in companies such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Ericsson, and Cisco. She has successfully led corporate cross-functional teams and projects focused on critical strategic initiatives, established strategic corporate alliances, and built senior-level executive relationships. Julissa has a proven track record in strategy development, ecosystem and business development, strategic alliances, go-to-market strategy, financial analysis, competitive strategy, market sizing & technology trends, inorganic growth strategy, and strategic planning.

One of her notable past positions was the Senior Manager Strategy & Portfolio Management BU IP & Cloud at Ericsson, where she helped execute strategic initiatives in the areas of IP, virtualization, and cloud, maximizing quality decision-making through data-driven approaches. Besides her corporate career, Julissa has volunteered as a Caritas Volunteer in Germany, helping the underprivileged.