Saturday, June 12, 2010

Share Your Favorite Memory of Chuck

I know that each one of us probably have many memorable moments that we've spent with Chuck. I'd like to ask you to share with us the _one_ favorite memory you have of him. Simply click on "comments" to record your memory.

33 comments:

  1. I cannot begin to recall all the great memories and fun we had when we started with this company. There were about 99 of us and the year I started we had just finished the year with $26 Million, yes $26 million, and were having our first sales meeting in Squaw I believe. Spagnola didn’t even have kids at the time. We brought our wives that first year and I introduced my wife to Chuck who was, at the time, dancing on a pool table, we laughed and she said he really likes to have fun ! He always did.

    I will miss our conversations, I will miss the times when he out did me by sending Bagels to everyone in manufacturing trying to get his shipments for Goldman and Merrill out the door before my Boeing shipments. I will miss the many good times and conversations about business and personal stories. I remember the great national sales meetings where every part of the country was represented and we all boasted being from California, New York or the west, and of course who was one of the key people leading the charge from east with balloons, string confetti ………yes it was Chuck.

    He was a great motivator and we shared our many experiences in the earlier years about growing our businesses, his on the east coast and mine on the west coast. If everything was going really bad we either called Mike Quinn. Joe Pinto, or Randy Pond cause we knew they would make something good happen to help us and our customer be successful. Although the company has grown to a level and size that many of us would never have thought possible, during those early years we unknowingly and collectively honed a culture that is still found in almost every corner of the company today. I am proud to have been a part of it and to have worked with people such as Chuck Pease.

    Merrill McAdams

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chuck Pease was a prince of a human being and a great Cisco person. All of us who are at the company now, particularly in the Financial Services area owe him a debt of gratitude. Chuck was a pioneer from a sales standpoint in networking. He was one of the key people at Cisco who cracked Wall Street back in the SNA days when we were a “nobody”. We have all enjoyed a tremendous amount of success due Chuck’s accomplishments and his branding of Cisco as a player in FS. One of the greatest competitors I have ever seen.

    I remember in the early days when he never went to San Jose without a delivering bagels to all of our manufacturing and customer service employees who were instrumental to his client’s success. He would personally had each employee one. Obviously the company was a lot smaller then but still this was no small feat. Chuck was one of the most considerate and thoughtful people I’ve ever had to privilege to know.

    I am honored to have had him as a friend for the past 16 years. My heartfelt sympathies go out to his family, and to Frank Palumbo who was in essence Chuck’s brother. Please keep Chuck and his family in your prayers.

    No one cared more about this company and its success than Chuck. Truly a great person.

    woody

    ReplyDelete
  3. Knowing Chuck Pease and being able to call him a friend, was an honor and a privilege. Merrill McAdams mentions in his note about the first cisco (it was a small c then) sales meeting in Squaw Valley and I can remember Chuck on the pool table, and other times dancing with Jim Makar on a bar in San Mateo, when the New York and New England Regions were "team building" at 4AM. There are many stories of how we worked hard and played hard. That was part of what made cisco great during our high growth phase, and Chuck was in many ways one of the "ring leaders"

    One of the most important things to me was Chuck's friendship both professionally and personally. He was a true person, there was no hidden agendas with him. He truly cared about people he knew and did things to help when he could, and would still try even if he could not.

    Chuck joined cisco a couple of years after I had been with the company, and initially was tied to the hip with Stan Rose. Chuck it seemed was given the responsibility to follow Stan and straighten out the confusion that Stan would cause for customers. I can remember clearly Chuck coining the word "staneurism" to describe things that Stan would say to a customer about cisco features that may or may not have actually existed at the time, or convincing the customer that the 2 year old slides that Stan was still using were out of date, and we really could support SNA.

    If it had not been for Chuck following Stan into Salomon Brothers, Goldman Sachs, and others, it is very likely that cisco's success on Wall Street would have gone to our arch enemy Wellfleet, and the networking market would have been a lot different.

    There are only a handful of people that I knew during my tenure with cisco that truly cared for the customer, and the success of company and were able to balance both and I can certainly say that Chuck's name would be on the top of that list. He had an ability to challenge the company and everyone associated with it to be greater every day.

    I will miss my friend greatly, and only hope that some day we will all be together again, and maybe there is another small company in heaven that we can all join and create another success together.

    My deepest sympathies go out to Chuck's family, and you should be proud of his accomplishments.

    Robert Stout

    ReplyDelete
  4. My condolences to Chuck's family. I will tell an amusing story here, even at the risk of revealing another staneurism that we laughed about many times, in the nearly 20 years since.
    As one of cisco's first NYC-based customers (Morgan Stanley) in the very early years it is true that Chuck had a unique ability to defuse difficult situations, champion the customer's needs and bring harmony to tense situations. In late 1989 the internet-working vendor selection process had concluded with cisco being the winner, the deployment of cisco routers started slowly and then ramped up. One of early problems was that cisco could not keep up with the accelerating demand, and the 6 to 7 week delivery times were causing some problems for us. Morgan Stanley management called cisco onto the proverbial carpet to discuss the long lead times as well as some other technical issues. The then CEO John Morgridge was escorted in to Morgan Stanely by the local cisco account team of Chuck and Stan Rose. As if it weren't enough that Chuck had to field most of the blistering omplaints from the Morgan Stanley team, his co-pilot Stan was not very helpful during the meeting, Stan fell asleep -- literally fell asleep, in his chair. Chuck had incredible composure and kept the meeting on point and really saved the day.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It is with a heavy heart to have to write about, Chuck, a true friend and colleague. My memories go back further then our cisco (with a small c) days to Wang Labs when Chuck, Jean Larkin, and John Muller would come into my office to tell me of the latest deal they wanted to offer to J&J. Their was the time we took a VP of J&J to the Devils Hockey game and Chuck told him he would have to limp so we could park close to the entrance to the stadium, only Chuck had that type of relationship with his customers.

    The early days of cisco were unbelievable everyone worked as a team, but Chuck took it the extra mile. He was especially concerned for the people who supported him, many times he would stay late with the SE’s to make sure they had what ever they needed even if it was just coffee. He used to organize meetings at the Landmark grill because it was easy to get to for both New York and New Jersey people. In San Jose he was the “Bagel Man “ showing his support and appreciation for everyone. In a time of need you could always count on Chuck to do what ever he could to help.

    I remember him telling me we needed a common message as to “Why Cisco” so we got together in my basement (that was the office) to come up with a presentation. Well I had music, but he said we had to ditch the elevator music. So off we went to the local music store to get something that would spur his creative juices I believe it was the Traveling Wilburys. “Why Cisco” was born a few hours and glasses of Finlandia later.

    The Internet does not have enough bandwidth for all the many things that he has brought to this company and the world. I am honored to have had him as a great friend.

    May God bless him.

    Jim Makar

    ReplyDelete
  6. I first met and got to know Chuck when I was on the Citi/Salomon Smith Barney account in the early days of cisco's office on the 5th floor of One Penn Plaza in NYC, and then later got to know him more closely when I ran my own startup company (and when he was at Egenera). He always gave invaluable and very different insights into a customers DNA that I always found to be extremely interesting. Chuck was a friend who you could call at 11 PM at night about any topic related to networking or otherwise and he would chat with you for an hour without a bother and give you his unvarnished opinion. I will miss his straight to the point talk and his friendship. May you rest in peace my friend. We will miss you man !

    ReplyDelete
  7. When I started at cisco in 1992 I had the honor of working with many of the great people of early cisco. I worked for Carlos Dominguez - a great man, split territories with Stan Rose and Chuck (he was a damn good negotiator), and, had increduble support from people like Tom Sweeney, Jimmy Smith, Matt Smorto, John Doyle, Jim Makar, Joe Pinto, Mike Quinn and many others. Candidly, if not for those people, I would not have accomplished much in my career. All of them in their own right were inspirational - and great teachers. There were many-many others, but Chuck above all was the most impactful person I got to know. Why? Beacuse he and I had to split territories. Which means he and I had to spend lots of time together. We had to spend quite a bit of time sorting out the "gold". Some days our relationship was adversarial, some days incredibly supportive of one another. With the situation we were put in I was surprised it wasn't worse. In the early days of cisco, splitting territories was like splitting diamonds - especially when they were under-penetrated wall street accounts.

    I remember the day he had to transition Merril Lynch to me in May 1992. He did it with class and dignity - although I could not figure out why he wore two watches, one on either wrist? In the end, as I got to know Chuck I understood why he wore two watches. I began to understand lots about this unique man.

    Chuck transitioned all his accounts with class and dignity because he was a staunch supporter of the customer. He also cared deeply for cisco. Chuck also lived the high performance culture that early cisco had flowing through its veins. He embodied much of what we coveted about early cisco's once in a lifetime corporate culture.

    I was proud to work with you Chuck...and proud to know you. I wish I would have told you this before your life was snatched from you too early. May God bless you, your family - and all of your friends. I was very proud to be one of them.

    Bill Nuti

    ReplyDelete
  8. I started at Cisco in '95 as part of a new team that was a bit behind the 8-ball. Chuck took me under his wing and became my mentor and friend. Chuck was the senior guy on the team and helped the new regional manager to drive some phenomenal success. He did it selflessly and with class.

    That was the true essence of Chuck. Giving. His first thought when seeing a friend was "how can I help?" He has touched so many people in his life and I'm thrilled there is an opportunity for his family to gain a perspective of what he meant to the rest of the world.

    I think I can sum up his professional philosophy in two phrases: 1. DO WHAT"S RIGHT, and 2. GET IT DONE. He has all about integrity and execution, and that's why he always excelled and why customers loved him. Chuck had an absolute uncanny knack to pull together the right people, put them in a room, and get out of the way. He was a truly unique and amazing person - both professionally and personally.

    He also had a phenomenal sense of humor as all the Cisco people know only too well. I remember early in our weekly forecasting meeting (and let's just say the team was struggling a bit at the beginning) - Chuck decided to lighten things up. So he purchased 8 swami hats and our manager (Bill Schlegel) walked in that Monday to a team of mystics trying to divine the future.

    We have remained in touch regularly over many years, and I felt privileged to have him as a friend. I spoke with him last Monday and we were hoping to get together next week when he was traveling out West... this came as such a shock.

    There are certain people that really touch your life and you count on to be there. He was one of them and there is such a hole that will never be filled. Chuck - I will miss you so much.

    My thoughts and prayers are with your family through such a difficult process. I hope they will take some comfort from all of these postings.

    ReplyDelete
  9. On the day Chuck's first daughter Jamie was born, he came into the Wang office in Edison, NJ in green scrubs, just out of the delivery room and ran around the office trying to close a deal with J&J that he was working on with John Muller and Jean Larkin. He was wound up and moving fast!

    No one that I know had a deeper knowledge of music. He was driving a Lexus for a while because he loved the sound of the stereo - the rest of the car's features were not even noticed.

    We had many great times with Diane DeCarlo, Jim Makar, Jim Smith, Frank Palumbo, Jean Larkin, and his many friends in the Wang and Cisco familes.

    He has always been deeply appreciative of everything Frank Palumbo, John Chambers and the entire Cisco family have done for him over the years.

    My wife Anne and I had the good fortune to take Chuck and Chris Rossi sailing on the last day we spent with him. He was in great spirits and kept us all laughing. I could not have asked for a better way to remember Chuck.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Chuck was a legend in the engineering department at Cisco in the early 90's. After each fiscal quarter ended, Chuck would ship NYC Bagels and Cream Cheese to the Menlo Park office (and later San Jose) to the engineering teams as his way of saying thanks. This was so typical of Chuck. He never forgot the people he worked with and made sure they knew it as well. Chuck was the conscious of the company. His favorite reminder was "Listen to the customer". I am proud to have been his friend and know that everyone who knew him felt the same way. His was a prince and a wonderful human being.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I feel obligated to say that that Chuck was one of the first people (literally) at Cisco that Matt Smorto introduced me to. Chuck instantly became a friend and trusted advisor. His influence during my early time at Cisco was a major source of momentum to propel our UCS team when we were a handful of people working for Matt.

    I met his son in SJC once, very nice kid – full of potential.

    Chuck cannot be replaced – he will be missed by all.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I was the Branch Mgr. for Wang in Edison N.J. when I first met Chuck. Frankly, I wasn't sure Chuck was all there. At cisco (small c) he became my friend and I became convinced he had a few screws loose. But he sure was fun and a great salesman to boot! We have talked and I have seen him a few times, but not enough. I will miss him. I believe Chuck and Rich Gibbs are somewhere telling stories!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I met Chuck not long after I joined Cisco in 1997. I was young, full of energy and motivation and probably had no business getting the job in the first place. I didn't work for Chuck or even near him, but he still waved me into his office any time it looked like I needed the ear of someone who had been there in the fight before me. He'd say things like "it's my job to make sure that guys like you keep their head on straight and do what you're capable of doing", then give me an hour of his time at the end of a long day.

    I left the tech busines and have worked in finance for the last six years. I often find myself doing things that I learned from Chuck when mentoring the people on my team. Everyone on our desk knows and uses a phrase to describe tough days that I borrowed from Chuck..."Some days are diamonds, today was a rock. Tomorrow's looking better, so lets get back to work".

    Rest easy my friend. You'll be remembered as one of the great ones.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I remember that in 1991 I met chuck and the rest of the NY sales team as I did my SNA Training class. Chuck was funny, crazy and unbeleivably committed to doing the right thing. One thing I remember, when Chuck called you and asked you for help, it wasn't bullshit; it was real and he needed YOU. I remember getting a call and literally jumping on a plane a few hours later to put out some fire at Merrill, Citi, Goldman Sachs, etc. We had an understanding, I'd help whenever he needed it and he'd only call when it was me he needed. I never had that relationship with anyone else in sales that had that much trust and respect.

    He was a wonderful person. RIP.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Chuck was a legend, a friend & a real mentor. He was someone I always respected for what he believed in. He was a NO BS type of a guy but also had a great way of handling & managing tough situations. Chuck was always there for me and ready to help in any way he could...In fact, he was my manager during my toughest personal time and if it was not for Chuck and our walks around Penn Plaza, I honestly would be in the place I am today!

    Chuck will always me missed and remembered!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I worked with chuck most of my career at cisco. I met him in 94 when I first started Cisco. Chuck was such a great man! I worked in customer service. I would help coordinate the bagel delivery to SJ where he would thank people that he did not even know but the people that made him a success. Also if a sales rep was giving me a hard time, he would get on the phone and set them straight. If I was stressed out he would read me a part of an inspirational book. I still talk about Chuck to this day. He had such a golden heart and cared about EVERYONE. I adored this man. HE will be truly missed.
    I pray for his children.
    Elise chandler-Paquette

    ReplyDelete
  17. Chuck was always incredibly gracious with me! When i joined cisco, there was incredible vortex of talent in our NY office. As so many have pointed out, Chuck was always different from the expectation. He was an incredible negotiator. Mostly though, i remember the bagels. Whenever anything went right, bagels were there in SJ for us. I learned early on that success is a village and that feeding your village is a fab thing.
    There will be a void on this planet.
    dan scheinman

    ReplyDelete
  18. Donovan E WilliamsJune 6, 2010 at 2:18 PM

    Chuck invited me to join his team for a dinner celebration back in 2000. I assisted his team in winning a security opportunity at one of his accounts. At the time, there were restrictions on team event expenses. I'll never forget what Chuck told me that evening. He stated that even though there was a restriction, he wanted to make sure that his team was rewarded for the win and stated " you always want to invest in your greatest asset, " your team/people". That was Chuck. Always appreciative of his staff.

    ReplyDelete
  19. My first encounter with Chuck Pease – “the legend” – was as a competitor when I was representing Racal-Datacom at Citibank circa 1994. There was a Retail Branch SNA-to-Frame migration opportunity. We brought in an integrated WAN/LAN access device feeling confident of the elegance in which we would architect with minimal back-end cabling. When we got to the lab there they were – rows and rows of shiny aqua blue AGS+s. I knew I was in for trouble. I then learned about Chuck Pease from the Citibank VPs. Apparently he had already put away College Education funding for all his 3 children. A formidable opponent indeed!
    I ultimately joined Cisco in 1996. I first met Chuck in the Penn Plaza mailroom. A man in khaki shorts and a black color tee shirt with sun glasses listening to a walkman rushed into the room. So that’s Chuck Pease, I thought.

    I had the good fortune to work with Chuck shortly thereafter on the Global Six region. We were the most unlikely team but Chuck brought us all together. We worked hard i.e. 2 AM conference calls and played just as hard especially at Chuck’s inventive off-site venues including a performance of the Blue Man Group, Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium and Sony 3D theatres, Central Park Boathouse and Lucky Chang’s Drag Queen cabaret. Chuck was the most generous manager. He selflessly opened every door – including Mr. Chambers’ door – to help me build American Express from a competitively-held glimmer in my eye into the legacy 3.0 Customer they still are today. That, Chuck Pease was a Prince is no understatement!

    Chuck has remained a true friend to me all these years. Losing Chuck is the end of an era. My heart goes out to his family. This loss is unfathomable for all of us. May he rest in eternal peace! We’ll always love and miss you greatly, Chuck!

    ReplyDelete
  20. It is very poignant that I’m writing this on June 6th.

    My Dad, Joseph A. is a WWII Vet… a decorated member of the 35th Infantry that landed at Normandy on June 6th. He served as a medic both on the beaches of Normandy and later at the Battle of the Bulge at Bastogne. We have often shared an evening watching Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers where he would try… to explain to me what it was like…and I would try to understand.

    He has often said to me “Son, as you go through life you will meet a lot of people but always ask yourself”… “Would you want to be in a 2 person fox hole with this person when everything is on the line and riding on it..?”

    I met Chuck in the spring of 1991 at a time when Cisco (little c) had 3 products. From that time until the last time I saw him he was always the same. He was always there to do the right thing and always had time for the System Engineers, their problems and their concerns… and more often than not took on the issue as his own.

    Known in California at one time as the Bagel Man, Chuck was fond of sending a Bagel and Cappuccino / Coffee cart to the parking lot of Cisco in Menlo Park and San Jose for the TAC and Development people that had helped him on an issue with a customer.

    The last time I saw Chuck was at a birthday party on Long Island about 2 years ago. He just came from a customer’s site and was a little late but there was no chance that he was going to miss this party for a friend… someone that he had often shared a foxhole with.

    So the next time my Dad’s movie night rolls around and he asks me to queue up his VCR to watch Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers and he asks me, “Son, have you ever met somebody that you would want to share a foxhole with?”

    I can look him dead straight in the eye and say “Yes Dad, …. I have.”

    Thanks Chuck, I’ll miss you.

    Bob Zebrowski, New Jersey

    ReplyDelete
  21. I wanted to post one more quick note to describe the impact chuck had. When Chuck and I joined cisco there were maybe 300 people and when I left in 2000 maybe 40,000 employees. In 1999 I remember overhearing a conversation between two employees in San Jose that I had never met who were discussing the 'Bagel Guy'. One of these people received a call asking for help from Chuck and damned if they weren't going to jump through hoops to help! They had no idea who Chuck was other than he was the nut job in New York who had H&H bagels airlifted to San Jose once a year. They would do ANYTHING to help chuck because he was kind and memorable and they had never met him!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Susan Scheer AokiJune 6, 2010 at 9:19 PM

    Chuck touched so many of us with his humor, genrosity, and sense of style.

    I still remember him proudly wearing a Rem and Stimpy T-Shirt at the Sales Meeting in San Jose.

    I got to know Chuck soon after he turned the Manufacturing building into a New York bagel house. He seemed like a big brother to me - the kind that is very protective but also loads of fun to hang with. My first business trip at Cisco was to New York to meet Chuck's accounts. He left me a 3 minute long voicemail guiding me from arrival at JKF to the hotel with specific instructions on proper cabs, where to meet him, and what to do. It's been many years since that eventful trip, and I still think about Chuck whenever I get into a yellow cab.

    We will miss you Chuck!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Chuck made everyone he worked with feel important because he truly believed it. He knew he was nothing without his team, but conversely his team was nowhere without leadership. Chucks version of leadership eschewed the typical trappings of corporate leadership. He genuinely wanted team success and he would go to the mat (and the Matt) to get things done for his customers and his team, so much so that he ruffled feathers. Just as you would want to be on chucks side, you didn't want to be on the other side of his passion. He was a straight shooter in a world that rewarded 'yes men' but he had integrity and this is who he was. Chuck paid prices for his integrity but he was always philosophical and always looking forward.

    I was 27, working with him on Citibank. I remember travelling to a lab to help on an x.25 conversion project, fairly nervous about unfamiliar technology and dealing with real experts in their field. Chuck, undoubtedly sensing my nervousness, built me up so much to the customer that I actually believed what he said and we found our first success together. Chuck and I made 3 a pilgramege to Novell Super Labs in Provo and it was hysterical watching Chuck New Yorkize the Provo labs. Chuck was always appreciative of his teams work and went OUT OF HIS way to make sure that people were paid for it. I remember numerous bonuses from his efforts and I personally helped him recommend tac and development engineers for bonuses for helping in key, high profile situations. When i was stuck at 3am on Sunday morning of Memorial day weekend at Marsh Mclennan when some poor pre-sales planning had taken down their entire network chuck answered his phone. I explained the situation, he had the right advice and he backed me in the aftermath. When I had to leave a family vacation to help on Citibanks FIRST Cisco Ethernet switch installation Chuck sent a stretch limo to pick me up from my beach vacation and take me to the airport. Of course, the bar was stocked accordingly.

    My iPhone is not letting me properly edit or review this so forgive typos, etc. and in the spirit of Chuck I will hit The send button

    RIP Chuck

    Mike Katz
    mailspect.com

    Chuck put his integrity ahead of personal gain, his team ahead of himself and his customer as his only boss. Chuck had rough patches but he remained positive

    ReplyDelete
  24. Chuck – you will be missed pal.
    I first met Chuck while interviewing at Egenera. I’d been stuck in a conference room all day meeting a series of people – and Chuck walked in – and said ‘Let’s get you out of here, let’s walk to Starbucks’. That unconventional spirit is what endeared him to all. I will miss the rambling, quirky, semi-poetic philosophical emails he would write at 3.00AM – we would laugh about them together the next ‘late-morning’ when he would show up to work after his many, painful dentists visits. His voice-mail box would always be full – it was another Chuckism!
    But he was always there for you as a true friend and gave unconditional support with no qualms and no hesitation. When he committed to help, he put in a lot of time and thought. He really enjoyed Indian food at our place once and in return, generously gifted us with show tickets when we were visiting Paris. My husband and I will never forget his unique way of showing appreciation. I’ve been reading the bagel stories and can totally imagine him doing something so crazy and yet thoughtful.
    When I joined Cisco last year (again my interview with his team was not in the office – it was over a drink :-)) - he spent many hours showing me Cisco perks and about how he used them for his kids. He loved you guys and constantly spoke about you! Life hadn’t been easy for him but he wasn’t jaded and always related incidents with a smile.
    It is very sad that someone so full of life should have it taken away so suddenly. Rest In Peace Chuck Pease – it was a pleasure and privilege having had you as a friend.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I first met Chuck in 2004 when he decided to take a hiatus from Cisco. We were colleagues then at Egenera. At first, he struck us all as being quirky, disorganized and a bit manic. But it didn't take long for me to recognize that there was something special about him. Quite simply, Chuck breathed life into everything he did. And he brought a sense of passion to his work that was contageous. In our world of hi-tech we measure results in sales, revenue and profitability. Of course, Chuck was part of that too. But you could see in him a deep conviction and a profound sense of personal satisfaction in doing right by his customers and a commitment for creating long-lasting relationships. I last spoke to him only about a month ago. He was as pysched and as determined as ever to change the world with UCS. Always like Don Qixote, a dreamer and a friend. Chuck, we'll miss you.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I first met chuck when i joined cisco in 1995, my desk was piece of plywood balanced between the edge of Chuck Duffy's desk and a trash can. In the craziness of the office Chuck Pease was already a legend, and always willing to help the new guy. A few years later I had the privilege of moving into Chuck's region - G6! Chuck became a friend, mentor, guide and moral compass. picking a favorite memory, is hard. I have to pick 2, the first shows how dedicated he was to his team - while in San Diego for the sales meeting, Chuck booked a sail boat cruise for the team, and a few others. The captain was not that eager to travel very far from the dock with this crew of misfits so we seemed to be just sailing in small circles just in the harbor. When chuck saw that this was a bit of a disappointment, he was on the phone calling for another ship to come along side this one in the harbor so that a "grand escape from the mundane" could be accomplished. No other ship would attempt this without our captain's permission, so... the ship's keg was confiscated and we boarded ourselves in the captain's quarters and played poker until we docked. Turned out to be the best boat ride I have ever had!!
    Chuck's dedication to his customers was demonstrated in typical Chuck style following 9/11. Goldman Sachs asked about a potential disaster location for key GS folks, outside of wall street. Chuck helped us secure Cisco's upper floor at 1 Penn to become a Goldman Sachs office. We spent Wed and Thur securing laptops, desks etc.. and on Friday Chuck was able to locate more than 100 IP phones that were needed. These could not be driven into the city by a delivery truck and no vehicles were allowed to unload under 1 Penn. Chuck simply smiled and told Dennis and I to meet him at 1Penn Saturday morning. He drove to a delivery location in another state on Friday, loaded his personal suburban with over 100 IP Phones, drove into the city, under Penn Plaza and somehow even convinced the security of the Plaza to not only allow him to park and unload a hundred brown boxes on a Saturday morning, but to even help get the phones up to the floor. GS had an operational office by Monday!
    It is said that there are two types of friends; the ones that you can call to help you move a piano, and the ones that you can call to help you move a body. Chuck was BOTH.
    Rest in Peace I love you.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Early in the '90s, there was always competition between the Chicago and NY office as to which would win the sales contest. So I remember Chuck and the rest of the NY team as competitors, but also as cisco colleagues. I do remember helping NY (Chuck/Citi?) out of a jam by sending them 6 4K routers on an overnight special. The Burlingame Sales meeting comes to mind..Chuck with an arm/elbow that looked liked "popeye". Its funny, I have a meeting with Chuck this Friday on UCS/Ecats catchup...

    cisco will miss you......

    ReplyDelete
  28. Some of the best memories of my time at Cisco are of the people. I was fortunate enough to be at Cisco at a time when the company was truly on fire and experiencing hyper-growth. The atmosphere was all "can do" and satisfied my key drivers – feed my intellectual curiosity (keep learning!), leave things better than I found them (contribution) and work with a team that just keeps hitting the ball out of the park.

    One of the people who truly left an impression was Chuck.

    He was awesome! He was interested in deeply understanding the customer's needs and figuring out how to provide them with solutions that met their needs. This was at a time where customer understanding of network technology was still evolving and as a result, placed a lot of demands for rapid development of new product.

    Chuck was a consummate salesman – not just externally to the customer but internally as well. He knew how to make his case, how to get people on his side and how to give credit and kudos to all the unseen players when we won business.

    Working with Chuck and my marketing counterpart was one of my best experiences of synergy between sales, marketing and engineering – all focused on the customer and their need.

    Chuck knew about the unseen players and deeply appreciated the role they played. So from time to time, he would Fedex a big shipment of New York's finest bagels and schmears to California – bagels for EVERYONE in Cisco California. You could tell when they arrived… you'd see all the people in the building eating bagels and telling their friends, "Hey, Chuck sent us some bagels!" His simple gesture spoke more than words could ever have done – folks knew that what they did was appreciated!

    On one visit to California, Chuck came into my office with a CD – "Hey Stu, you gotta listen to this!"… The CD was Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti.

    The track was "Boogie with Stu".

    I'm listening to that track as I write this and I can see Chuck's grin as if he was here in my office today.

    Keep the Boogie going Chuck – we all miss you. The world lost a very Uncommon Man.

    ReplyDelete
  29. What a sad day as I just saw this news posted on LinkedIn when I got in this morning. Chuck Pease was one of the kindest people in the Cisco NYC sales office. I remember him fondly from my days there as a regional admin back in 98/00. I worked for another RM in his OP and recall covering for Millie once in a while. Chuck was totally self sufficient so I never had to do much for him. But he always took a few minutes to call in or stop by my desk just to say 'hi'. Honestly, I think he just missed Millie. When I think of what "Cisco culture" truly means I think of people like Chuck Pease. I think he was actually part of that culture coming to be. From where I sat in the NYC office I saw Chuck as an anchor as well as champion for his immediate team, his extended operational team and his customers. I have not seen him in years but have always remembered him with great fondness. I know his Cisco family past and present will miss him. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

    Tracey Neave

    ReplyDelete
  30. I remember meeting Chuck in the PATH station beneath the World Trade Center, as I came in from New Jersey. He was one of the first cisco salespeople I met, and he quickly dispelled whatever stereotypes I might have had (a Chuck specialty, I think)! He demonstrated what a great sales professional is all about. He believed so deeply in taking care of the customer, doing the right thing, sharing his wisdom with those around him, and making the journey a grand adventure.

    On another visit, as we rushed between customers in a cab, Chuck reminded me to fasten my seatbelt, saying "You need to get home safe to your kids." So many small human gestures like that add up to the warm memories we all share of him.

    Heartfelt condolences to his family. Rest in peace, Chuck.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Chuck was a true gentleman!!

    One Christmas he was up in Rochester celebrating with his family. One of their neighbors was a kid who didn't quite fit in and whose family didn't have a lot. Chuck went out and bought him a new computer that Christmas.

    My deepest sympathies to his children and the rest of his family.

    Love
    Rich

    ReplyDelete
  32. I have met very few people in my lifetime that can live up to being a "True Gentleman". Chuck in my opinion was the ultimate "True Gentleman". I worked directly for Chuck for about 5 years at Cisco. I used to call Chuck my Mentor and he would say I was his tormentor. Chuck made me a better sales person and a better human being, by his actions and deeds. I believe this statement of a True Gentleman sums up what we have all been saying about Chuck. I will miss you my friend. My prayers and condolences go out to your family. Rest in Peace.

    THE TRUE GENTLEMAN- CHUCK PEASE

    The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self-control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others, rather than his own; and who appears well in any company, a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe.

    ReplyDelete
  33. "Next Irrational outburst in 5 minutes" That was the pin badge Chuck gave me at one of the annual sales meetings in CA. I'm looking at it right now as I type these thoughts. He found all these crazy pins and gave them to people to wear as his way of identifying them to others! Made sense.

    I joined Cisco in '95 working for Bill Nuti at the time. I remember my first week up on the over crowded and legendary 1 Penn 39th floor office walking out one day with Bill and saw this guy in a closet that he made an office for himself and Bill saying be careful of this guy, he's not wired like the rest of us. Igor Klener eventually took over that office, birds of a feather I guess. Interesting and curious. So what did I end up doing, becoming good friends with that guy who helped me understand more about myself and about business than I could ever imagine. Along the way he became not only my boss but a close friend and mentor. When I was looking into the abyss several times he helped rescue me and set me on the right path again.

    Some of the best/funny but real advice he gave me was the following: sometimes when you get in trouble with mgmt they put you in the penalty box, and sometimes they hit you with the stick, BUT sometimes they put you in the box AND hit you with the stick. He was right. We both had the scars to prove it.

    I can remember the countless evenings on the phone for hours both of us drinking vodka on the other end of the phone and getting banged up talking about careers, business, concerts and life. At the time we both had our demons we were battling and there was great comfort in sharing our thoughts and emotions with each other in an effort to figure it all out. The really cool thing about those drain the battery dead discussions was that we didn't need to be in each others presence for this to be effective and highly personal. I will remember and cherish those discussions forever despite the hangovers the next day.

    After I left Cisco and eventually landed at Riverbed I tried to convince my friend and mentor to join us. We needed someone out of the box at the time to take this start-up to the next level and show mgmt the way it had to be done. Who better than Chuck to be the one to break some glass. We were close to getting him but in the end John called and told him he was needed back at the mother ship for another tour of duty. Chuck being the loyal foot soldier that he always was went back to where it all started for him. No one turns down John when he calls.

    In the end Chuck gave way more than he ever took. I think everyone would agree. I could go on for pages of stories as most of us can. Chuck lead an up and down life full of triumphs and tragedy's. Throughout those experiences he lead by example as best he could and always tried to do the right thing by the customer, the company and that of his peers. I can't imagine a world without him now and all the people that got cheated out from not knowing and working with him. He was certainly taken away from all of us way too early. I'm sure if Chuck had to choose who would go first he would have volunteered. That was the kind of man he was. We are all better for knowing and loving him. He will live in my heart and soul forever. I know I'm a better person today for it. To that I say thanks.

    God bless you Chuck and may you rest in peace and look down on us from time to time and help us along the way when our road gets bumpy. I know that you will. Its what you always did...

    ReplyDelete