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Sandy Lerner
Sandy Lerner (born 1955) is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She co-founded Cisco Systems and used the money from its sale to pursue interests in animal welfare and women's writing. One of her main projects, Chawton House, is in England, but most of her work remains in the United States.
Sandy currently resides in Virginia, where she owns Ayrshire Farm. Lerner dedicates her time to Chawton House Library and the animal welfare community worldwide.
Lerner is a northern California native.
In 1975, she received her bachelor's degree in political science from California State University, Chico. In 1977, she received a master's degree in econometrics from the Claremont Graduate School. In 1981, she received a master's degree in statistics and computer science from Stanford University.
In 1984, while working as director of computer facilities for the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Lerner co-founded Cisco Systems with her then-partner and now-former husband Len Bosack. Lerner and Bosack worked with Stanford students and faculty on a project to better connect all of the school's computer systems. They later adapted software used at Stanford into what would become the foundation for Cisco IOS.
Lerner told the story of Cisco's startup on the podcast, How I Built This, in which Cisco's early days involved building routers in the living room and financing the business using credit cards. She emphasized the collaborative nature of the work and that despite communication protocols being public domain, developed largely from collaborative work at Stanford, Cisco was still able to produce products people wanted to buy.
Lerner and Bosack brought in John Morgridge to be the second CEO of Cisco in 1988. On August 28, 1990, Lerner was fired; upon hearing the news, Bosack resigned in solidarity. The two sold all of their stock for $170 million and retired from Cisco. Lerner and Bosack divorced in the early 1990s.
In 1996, Lerner purchased Ayrshire Farm, a 600-acre (2.4 km2) estate in Upperville, Virginia. The circa-1912, 42-room Edwardian mansion of native fieldstone has since been restored and was used for a variety of social functions under Lerner's direction. Ayrshire Farm's mission has been to farm sustainably and profitably, promoting the benefits of locally produced, humanely-raised meats and organic produce to the consumer, the community, and children through education, outreach, and example. The farm was the first in Virginia to meet both Certified Humane and Certified Organic standards.
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Sandy Lerner
Sandy Lerner (born 1955) is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She co-founded Cisco Systems and used the money from its sale to pursue interests in animal welfare and women's writing. One of her main projects, Chawton House, is in England, but most of her work remains in the United States.
Sandy currently resides in Virginia, where she owns Ayrshire Farm. Lerner dedicates her time to Chawton House Library and the animal welfare community worldwide.
Lerner is a northern California native.
In 1975, she received her bachelor's degree in political science from California State University, Chico. In 1977, she received a master's degree in econometrics from the Claremont Graduate School. In 1981, she received a master's degree in statistics and computer science from Stanford University.
In 1984, while working as director of computer facilities for the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Lerner co-founded Cisco Systems with her then-partner and now-former husband Len Bosack. Lerner and Bosack worked with Stanford students and faculty on a project to better connect all of the school's computer systems. They later adapted software used at Stanford into what would become the foundation for Cisco IOS.
Lerner told the story of Cisco's startup on the podcast, How I Built This, in which Cisco's early days involved building routers in the living room and financing the business using credit cards. She emphasized the collaborative nature of the work and that despite communication protocols being public domain, developed largely from collaborative work at Stanford, Cisco was still able to produce products people wanted to buy.
Lerner and Bosack brought in John Morgridge to be the second CEO of Cisco in 1988. On August 28, 1990, Lerner was fired; upon hearing the news, Bosack resigned in solidarity. The two sold all of their stock for $170 million and retired from Cisco. Lerner and Bosack divorced in the early 1990s.
In 1996, Lerner purchased Ayrshire Farm, a 600-acre (2.4 km2) estate in Upperville, Virginia. The circa-1912, 42-room Edwardian mansion of native fieldstone has since been restored and was used for a variety of social functions under Lerner's direction. Ayrshire Farm's mission has been to farm sustainably and profitably, promoting the benefits of locally produced, humanely-raised meats and organic produce to the consumer, the community, and children through education, outreach, and example. The farm was the first in Virginia to meet both Certified Humane and Certified Organic standards.