Cisco President and Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel told Fortune that he gave 27-year-old Padmanabhan Krishnamurthy unlimited AI tokens to refactor the company’s legacy code. Krishnamurthy proposed that a two-person team could rewrite the code. Patel said he gave himself four weeks to prove the concept, with a longer-term goal of rewriting 98% of Cisco’s legacy code within 24 months.

Krishnamurthy joined Cisco in 2025 after the company acquired EzDubs, a real-time translation startup he cofounded in 2023. Patel said Krishnamurthy had been working in what he described as an unstrategic role before they met at Cisco’s San Francisco office.

Patel said he is seeking more early-career employees who will challenge established practices. He said disagreements between younger hires and long-serving employees can be useful when they create friction around ideas rather than personal conflict. Patel also described interns as “reverse mentors.” He cited an intern named Baya, who regularly shared what she learned about AI and redesigned something that experienced staff had not been able to solve. Patel said he wants to recruit her.

The Fortune report also describes similar hiring preferences among Thrive Capital founder Josh Kushner, Tastewise founder Alon Chen and investor Will.i.am. They said they value younger workers’ perspectives and familiarity with AI. Patel said Cisco combines experienced operators, systems thinkers and entrepreneurial founders, CEOs and engineers who are AI-native.