Volpi's background might have disposed him more to diplomacy than dealmaking. He was born in Italy and spent his early childhood in Milan. When he was five, his family moved to Tokyo, and he lived in Japan until coming to the U.S. for college at 17. At Stanford, he caught a case of Silicon Valley fever -- and never looked back.

With bachelors and masters degrees in mechanical engineering, Volpi went to work for Hewlett-Packard's optoelectronics division. He stayed three years, moving from into marketing and acquiring a taste for business. That prompted his return trip to Stanford for an MBA. Two years later, he didn't consider going back to HP. "HP is very methodical, very consensus-driven," he says. "I wanted to get going."

That made him a perfect fit for Cisco, as it turned out. Volpi was hired to assist with investments and acquisitions. In April, 1996, Volpi became the director of Cisco's M&A group; a year later, he was awarded his current position as vice-president.