Nik Kale

Nik Kale is a Principal Engineer at Cisco Systems with over 17 years of expertise in Cloud Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, and AI-driven data analytics. He is the architect of Cisco’s In-Product AI-Enabled Support Fabric (Shepherd/CDAP), a platform that powers proactive, personalized, and automated support experiences across Cisco’s global product portfolio. Nik is a 3× Stevie Award and 2× ISSIP Distinguished Innovation Award recipient, a multi patent holder, and a senior judge for the Globee Awards, CODiE Awards, and Stevie Awards. He also serves on the Program Committee for ACM AISec 2025, where he reviews cutting-edge research in AI security, and has peer-reviewed more than 30 industry-level papers across six international journals. Recognized as an industry leader, Nik regularly evaluates innovations through judging panels such as the Business Intelligence Group’s AI Excellence Awards and Fortress Cybersecurity Awards, where he assesses pioneering technologies in artificial intelligence and security. His work has directly influenced Cisco’s Secure Access and Threat Detection & Response portfolios, advancing proactive security, automation, and customer experience at enterprise scale.