Helder Antunes

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Fragueiro and the second or paternal family name is Antunes.
Helder Antunes

Helder Antunes speaking at the 2008 Cisco Portugal Inaugural Party
Born Hélder Manuel da Terra Fragueiro Marques Antunes
(1963-07-06) 6 July 1963
Nossa Senhora da Conceição, Angra do Heroísmo, Azores, Portuguese Republic
Residence Morgan Hill, California,
United States of America[1]
Nationality Portuguese
Citizenship Portuguese Republic
United States of America
Alma mater San Jose State University
Occupation
  • Senior Managing Director at Cisco Systems
  • General Partner at Pereira Ventures
  • Counselor to Rede Prestige Açores
  • Adviser to the Regional Government of the Azores
  • Chairman of the Board of the OpenFog Consortium
  • Member of the Board of Veniam
Parent(s)
Armando Manuel Marques Antunes (father)

Carolina de Vasconcelos da Terra Fragueiro (mother)

Website www.helderantunes.com

Hélder Fragueiro Antunes (born 6 July 1963; Angra do Heroísmo, N. S. da Conceição)[2] is a Portuguese-American businessman, engineer, and former racecar driver. He is currently the Senior Managing Director of Corporate Strategic Innovation at the American multinational networking and telecommunications corporation, Cisco Systems, and a general partner at Pereira Ventures, a California consultant and venture capital firm.

Dubbed by PortugalGlobal Magazine as "the perfect example of Portuguese success in the global era",[3] Antunes is actively involved in Portuguese and Azorean economic and political affairs.[4] Tying Portuguese businesses and organizations to international funding and representation, Antunes is a counselor to the Rede Prestige Açores, a business institution operated by Autonomous Government of the Azores, and a frequent consultant to the Government of the Portuguese Republic.[5][6]

In November 2015, Antunes became Chairman of the board of directors for the OpenFog Consortium.[7]

Early life

President Aníbal Cavaco Silva, former Cisco CEO John Chambers, and Helder Antunes at Cisco HQ, during the 2011 Portuguese Presidential Visit to the United States.

Hélder Manuel da Terra Fragueiro Marques Antunes was born on 6 July 1963, in Angra do Heroísmo (Nossa Senhora da Conceição), Terceira Island, Azores, to Armando Manuel Marques Antunes, from Torres Novas, and Carolina de Vasconcelos da Terra Fragueiro (Horta, Faial, 2 February 1937 - San Jose, California, 26 January 2014). Through his mother, Antunes is a descendant of Flemish-Portuguese nobleman and explorer Willem van der Haegen, Frankish Childeric I, King of the Salians, French nobleman Jean de Béttencourt,[8][9] and Portuguese King Afonso Henriques. Through his father, Antunes is cousin to Portuguese politician and economist Miguel Frasquilho.

Antunes much of his early life at the Lajes Air Force Base, on Terceira, where his parents and much of his family worked for and in the Portuguese Air Force.[10] In 1967, Antunes's father moved to the private sector, working for SATA Air Açores. With Antunes's father's new occupation the family moved to Ponta Delgada, on São Miguel Island. During this time, Antunes and his family frequented Continental Portugal, particularly Lisbon, during which Antunes first saw races at the Estoril Circuit, which he has cited as early inspiration for his racing career. Antunes and his family stayed on the island until 1975, when the events following the liberal Carnation Revolution, along with other factors, motivated them to emigrate to Rhode Island in the United States.[11]

Antunes lived in Rhode Island until 1983, when his family moved to San Jose, California, because Antunes' father was offered a position at Lockheed Martin, where he would later work on the Hubble Space Telescope project.[12] Antunes and his family would soon integrate into the Portuguese/Azorean community in Northern California, leading to Antunes and his father taking over the management of The Portuguese Tribune, a bilingual newspaper based out of Modesto.[13]

Racing career

Antunes started professional auto racing in 1983, shortly after his family moved to California. By 1987, Antunes had participated multiple times in the Nevada Open Road Challenge and the Silver State Classic, considered by Guinness World Records as the fastest road race in the world.[14] During his early years, Antunes raced Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Corvettes at tracks such as Sonoma Raceway (then known as Sears Point Raceway) and Leguna Seca Raceway.[15] Over the years, Antune placed in the top 3 various times in the Pony Express 100.[16][17][18]

During his time as an auto racer, Antunes also designed some of the early data acquisition systems for racecars.[19]

Silicon Valley

Antunes speaking at Cisco Connect Portugal 2013, Cascais.

Antunes started his career in the Silicon Valley high-tech industry at Grid Systems Corporation as a support engineer, where he met John Morgridge who would later offer him a position at Cisco. After Grid Systems, Antunes went to work at Plus Development and two years later at CA Technologies, where he led the CA-Superproject. Following CA, Antunes worked for NetManage, as Director of Engineering, but he left the company for Cisco Systems.

Alongside his position at Cisco, Antunes is a General Partner, with fellow Portuguese Armando Perreira, at Perreira Ventures, a venture capital and consulting firm. Portuguese newspaper Expresso stated that Antunes and Perreira wanted to "transform good ideas from entrepreneurs into successful businesses".[20]

Since starting his links between Silicon Valley and Portugal, Antunes had long stated the necessity of a Portuguese lobby in Silicon Valley, stating "Portugal needs to have an entity with its feet well-dipped in Silicon Valley."[11] Antunes stated that, with a lobby, "Portuguese technological businesses could be contracted... through outsourcing."[21] Antunes was eventually able to start a coalition of Portuguese businessmen in Silicon Valley and establish a Portuguese lobby.[22]

In April 2016, Antunes became a member of the Board of Directors of Veniam, a company specialized in WiFi mesh networks.[23]

Cisco Systems

Antunes joined Cisco Systems in 1998 as Senior Manager of Engineering, focusing on embedding security protocols into Cisco IOS. In 2003, Antunes was promoted to Director of Engineering, Global Solutions, and Network Services. Antunes and his team's work on the Dynamic Multipoint Virtual Private Network (DMVPN) earned them the 2004 Cisco Pioneer Award.[24]

From January 2012 to December 2013, Antunes served as Managing Director of the Cisco IoT Group and directed the Smart Connected Vehicles Initiative, a part of the Connected Industries Group, which seeks to network vehicles and standardize on the underlying networking platform.[25][26][27][28]

Since 2013, Antunes has served as Senior Director of Corporate Strategic Innovation, with the intent to resolve market disruptions, identify and foster innovative initiatives, and conduct Cisco's market strategy and leadership in IT.

IoT involvement and OpenFog chairmanship

In February 2013, Antunes was a founding member of the Internet of Things World Forum Steering Committee, which "aims to accelerate innovation, inspire new ways to transform governments, industries and lives."[29]

Antunes took part in and was a keynote speaker at the NASA-sponsored conference held at Ames Research Center, in July 2015, concerning the development of air regulations for drones.[30][31] Antunes stressed the role of drones in the future of the Internet of Things, which Antunes is actively involved in through Cisco.[32][33]

In November 2015, Antunes was named as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the newly formed OpenFog Consortium, a consortium founded by tech giants Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, Intel, ARM architecture, and Princeton University, for the standardization and promotion of fog computing.[34][35]

Activity in Portugal

Chris Dedicoat, Helder Antunes, and former Prime Minister José Sócrates at the 2008 Cisco Portugal Inauguration.

Antunes has played an important role in tying AICEP's INOV Contacto Program with Silicon Valley, with a strong emphasis on Cisco Systems.[36][37] This program, which is mostly funded by the Portuguese government and European Union, takes recent university graduates from Portugal and trains them in international business and technology.[38]

Antunes has been cited as an important person behind the installation of Cisco Systems in Portugal.[39] Antunes was a key member in establishing the Cisco laboratory in Portugal and Cisco Portugal as whole.[40]

Antunes' constant and plentiful work at connecting Portuguese students and businesses to Silicon Valley has earned him a reputation in Portugal as being an "ambassador of Portugal", a "true consul of Portugal in California", an "importer of talents", and a "consul of Portugal in Cisco".[41][42][43]

In 2012, Antunes was included in a list, called the National Selection and compiled by Revista Prémio, which listed the most powerful and influential Portuguese executives around the world and called Antunes "the guardian angel of Uncle Sam."[10]

Antunes was a panelist at Lis Summit '15, Portugal's largest seed & early stage startup investment event, held in Lisbon[44]

In the Azores

Alongside INOV Contacto's program, Antunes also formed a similar program in conjunction with the Regional Government of the Azores,[45][46] which works exclusively with Azorean university students and hosts them at Antunes' department at Cisco Systems headquarters in San Jose, California.[47]

Alongside his partner at Pereira Ventures, Armando Pereira, Antunes often assist in the collaboration of businesses in Silicon Valley with start ups within the tech industry and otherwise in the Azores.[48]

Antunes has long stressed the importance of the creation of an Azorean lobby, stating that the "creation of a formal lobby with the structure to foster innovating ideas from Portugal could expose them to the global market."[49] The creation of a lobby in the Azores, according to Antunes, would allow the Azorean market to be open to the "authorities of foreign investment" and establish "contacts with the right people."[50]

Antunes is a counselor to the Rede Prestige Açores, a network of notable Azoreans hosted by the Azorean government with the intent of development and knowledge dissemination for the benefit of the Azores.[51][52]

In 2012, Antunes was included in a list, compiled by the Regional Government of the Azores, of the Most Notable People from the Azores.[2]

Awards

Antunes has received many awards and accolades for his work both in Cisco, his previous employments, and for his work with the Portuguese government and state.[53]

Published works

References

  1. ↑ Expresso - Portugueses que Dão Cartas: Exemplos de Carreiras Fulgurantes até aos Mais Altos Postos
  2. 1 2 Notáveis dos Açores - Ficheiro de Personalidade - Hélder Antunes
  3. ↑ PortugalGlobal - Hélder Antunes: Português Faz Ponte com Silicon Valley
  4. ↑ AICEP - Portugueses do Silicon Valley Abrem Portas a Tecnológicas
  5. ↑ Advisor Helder Antunes at Rede Prestige Açores
  6. ↑ Governo dos Acores - Conselheiros da Rede Prestige com o Presidente da República em Silicon Valley
  7. ↑ Open Fog Consortium - Board of Directors: Helder Antunes
  8. ↑ Descendants of Jean de Bettencourt - Generation 26
  9. ↑ L'Association Jean de Béthencourt
  10. 1 2 Bénard Garcia, João (November 2012). de Mendonça, Álvaro, ed. "Selecção Nacional" [National Selection]. Revista Prémio (in Portuguese) (Lisbon, Portugal) IX: 51–61.
  11. 1 2 Expresso - Ter um Lóbi é o Segredo
  12. ↑ Diário Insular - Hélder Antunes e Armando Perreira: Saltar para o Mercado Mundial
  13. ↑ Conselho Mundial das Casas dos Açores - Jornal "A Tribuna Portuguesa"
  14. ↑ Silver State Classic Invitation 2000
  15. ↑ Cisco Wants to Drive your Car onto the Internet
  16. ↑ Roger Ward's Classic Auto Racing Society - Pony Express 100: Top Three Winning Place Results
  17. ↑ Roger Ward's Classic Auto Racing Society - Pony Express 100: June 1997 Results
  18. ↑ Roger Ward's Classic Auto Racing Society - Pony Express 100: September 1998 Results
  19. ↑ ZoomInfo - Helder Antunes
  20. ↑ Expresso - Portugueses do Silicon Valley Abrem Portas a Tecnológicas
  21. ↑ Expresso - Falta Lóbi na Califórnia
  22. ↑ Destaque - Portugueses que Marcam
  23. ↑ Veniam - Company
  24. ↑ The Cisco Packet - DMVPN Extends Business
  25. ↑ Portuguese Tribune - 15 March 2012 Issue
  26. ↑ San Jose Mercury Times - Silicon Valley technology could be key to connect cars for safer driving
  27. ↑ Wired - Cisco Wants to Drive Your Car … onto the Internet
  28. ↑ AutoEsporte - Carros Conectados Devem-se Tornar Realidade em Breve
  29. ↑ Cisco: The Network - Internet of Things World Forum Event Aims to Accelerate Innovation, Inspire New Ways to Transform Governments, Industries and Lives
  30. ↑ CNBC - Silicon Valley's biggest names team up on drones
  31. ↑ Yahoo! Finance - Big names from Silicon Valley team up on drones
  32. ↑ VIDO - Беспилотники: рекламная шумиха или реальный бизнес?
  33. ↑ NASA - NASA Invites Media to 2015 Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management Convention
  34. ↑ TIExec - Português Lidera IdC Consórcio OpenFog
  35. ↑ Cisco Blogs - Cisco Provides Leadership in Newly Formed OpenFog Consortium
  36. ↑ INOV Contacto - Cisco engenheiros portugueses
  37. ↑ Portugal Global - Equação de Sucesso
  38. ↑ INOV Contacto - About
  39. ↑ Jornal de Negócios - Portugal vai ser a Ponte enter EUA e Índia no Mapa de Investigação da Cisco
  40. ↑ Exame - Linha da Frente: Portugal Atrai Cisco
  41. ↑ Exame - Embaixadores de Portugal
  42. ↑ Exame - Importador de Talentos
  43. ↑ Económico - Um olhar sobre a liderança dos gestores portugueses
  44. ↑ Lis Summit Speakers: Helder Antunes
  45. ↑ Visão - Açores: Pelo Menos 10 Alunos Vão Estagiar nos EUA e Canadá em Agosto
  46. ↑ Universia - Sessão de Divulgação - Cisco Systems
  47. ↑ Jornal de Negócios - Voar pela Carreira: Portugueses nas Empresas de Tecnologias
  48. ↑ Tribuna Portuguesa - Empresários Açorianos de Silicon Valley Partilham Experiências e Conhecimento com Investidores Açorianos
  49. ↑ Açoriano Oriental - O Desenvolvimento Tecnológico dos Açores Surpreendeu-me
  50. ↑ Diário Insular - O Lóbi que Falta aos Açores
  51. ↑ RTP - Grande Entrevista Açores - Hélder Antunes
  52. ↑ Tribuna das Ilhas - Jácome Armas Conselheiro da Rede Prestige Açores
  53. ↑ Achievements on Personal Site
  54. ↑ COTEC Portugal: 2012 COTEC Portuguese Diaspora Awards
  55. ↑ CIO 100 Winner 2008
  56. ↑ DMVPN Extends Business Ready Teleworker
  57. ↑ Cisco on Cisco Best Practices Cisco Remote Access Design: Cisco Virtual Office Solution
  58. ↑ Cisco Blog - Smart Connected Vehicles – Changing How We Drive

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