A top Cisco executive says he was successful despite skipping college, but still pushed his kids to go because he may just be a one-off

• Cisco's UK and Ireland CEO David Meads dropped out of school at 16 after a motorbike accident. 
• The CEO decided he wanted to "get out there" and start making money and gaining experience. 
• Meads still encouraged his kids to go to college because he was worried his success was a one-off. 

Cisco's top executive in the UK has something in common with Bill Gates: he doesn't have a college degree and doesn't think you need one either. 

David Meads, Cisco's UK and Ireland CEO, recalled to Fortune that he got into a motorbike accident after signing up to do his A-Levels — equivalent to a high-school diploma in the US — at 16 years old and becoming bed-ridden in the hospital for two months.