John Morgridge, chairman of the board of Cisco Systems, will speak on "Ethics and Leadership" on the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 11, at the University of California, Davis.

Morgridge's presentation is part of the Dean's Distinguished Speaker Series presented by the Graduate School of Management. It will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Studio Theatre of the Mondavi Center.

Reservations for the invitation-only event have reached capacity, but seats have been reserved for members of the working news media.

Morgridge joined Cisco Systems in 1988 as president and chief executive officer, and grew the company from $5 million in sales to more than $1 billion, and from 34 employees to more than 2,250.

Initially funded by credit cards and a second mortgage, Cisco went public in 1990 under Morgridge, and in 1995 he was appointed chairman. During his tenure, Cisco has become the leading supplier of high-performance inter-networking products, with more than $20 billion in revenues and some 34,000 employees in 65 countries.

As chairman, Morgridge continues to champion a range of educational, philanthropic and corporate citizenship initiatives, and he is a guiding force behind the company's long-term commitment to focusing on basic human needs, responsible citizenship and access to education.