2023-June-20

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From Refugee to Cisco Brand Protector

BY VIDAL MELGAR-HERRERA · BRAND PROTECTION ENGINEER · NETHERLANDS

WITH HELEN GALL AND KARIM KATTOUF

4 MINUTE READ · 6 MINUTE LISTEN

I started my career at Cisco as an IT analyst in 2000, but the path leading to my present life has been anything but straightforward.

I was born in El Salvador — the smallest nation in Central America.

My father was a leading lab administrator at a local university. My mum was an executive assistant for a leading telecom company. My parents died in 1989 during El Salvador’s 12-year-long civil war.

I lived with my grandmother who sheltered and cared for me and my three sisters. Eventually, my sisters and I decided to leave El Salvador to start a new life.

When I arrived in the Netherlands, I was 12 years old.

I stepped off the plane as a refugee. When I next returned to the country of my birth, I was a Dutch citizen. Never forgetting where I came from has helped me understand what’s most important in my life: Family.

Like many young refugees, when I first set foot in my adopted home, I felt I didn’t belong.

I wanted to be back with my grandmother, who stayed in El Salvador. She sheltered and cared for me and my three sisters after we lost our parents. Suddenly, I felt we were abandoning her.

My sisters and I spent our first 18 months in the Netherlands living with my aunt before moving into our own house. My first year at high school was a challenge. I worked to understand a new language and discover my identity in this new, unfamiliar environment.

By the second year, things had improved: I spoke Dutch fluently and felt more at home, socialising and making friends.

My dream was to become an electrical engineer. But when the time came to go to college, I made what I thought was the sensible choice: Studying economics and business management.

I knew in my heart my future was in IT. So straight out of college, I took a job working at an IT help desk. Then, 23 years ago, I made the switch to what is today my second family: Cisco.

Joining Cisco was a proud moment in my life.

Working for one of the most respected companies in the sector, I knew I had started my career on the right track. My first job was at the internal help desk, but as I learned and evolved, I began dealing with more complex issues, including priority support.

From there, I became an IT engineer, delivering on-site support and helping my Cisco colleagues on our Amsterdam campus. The IT department was a wonderful place to be, where our colleagues worked hard, and the sense of camaraderie was inspiring.

In 2005, my Cisco journey continued when I was recruited to the Brand Protection team.

Our team partners worked closely with law enforcement and customs officials worldwide to stop counterfeit products at the border, identify counterfeit operations, and pursue legal actions against infringers of Cisco’s intellectual property rights, including trademarks.

I am one of the founding members of our global team. Being in the same group for the last 18 years is life-affirming. Cisco has enabled me to become an expert on our products and software.

Our team includes an amazing squad of investigators and engineers who actively monitor the marketplace to identify sellers of counterfeit products and take steps to curb this problem.

As a Brand Protection engineer, I run one of our four global forensic labs where we analyse and inspect counterfeit products.

Every day is different.

One day, we forensically study hardware and software. Other days we cooperate with law enforcement, building cases against counterfeiters. This includes training customs officials and analysing counterfeit products, often resulting in recommending key security enhancements to our genuine products.

It is very satisfying knowing that our team protects Cisco, our partners, and customers from counterfeit products.

My life in the Netherlands is built around family: At home, with my partner, my sisters, nieces, and nephews. And at work with my global team, who are part of my extended family.

While I love the Netherlands and what it has offered me, my heart remains in El Salvador. One day I will return to where it all began.

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