Cisco today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Chuck Robbins as Chief Executive Officer effective July 26, 2015. In his previous role as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Field Operations for Cisco, Chuck Robbins has led the company’s Worldwide Sales Organization and Worldwide Partner Organization.
John Chambers, who has led Cisco as its CEO for 20 years, will become the company’s executive chairman.
“This is the perfect time for Chuck Robbins to become Cisco’s next Chief Executive Officer. We’ve selected a very strong leader at a time when Cisco is in a very strong position,” said Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers. “Today’s pace of change is exponential. Every company, city and country is becoming digital, navigating disruptive markets, and Cisco’s role in the digital transformation has never been more important. Our next CEO needs to thrive in a highly dynamic environment, to be capable of accelerating what is working very well for Cisco, and disrupting what needs to change. Chuck is unique in his ability to translate vision and strategy into world-class execution, bringing together teams and ecosystems to drive results. Chuck knows every Cisco segment, technology area, and geography, and will move the company forward with the speed required to capitalize on the opportunities in front of us. He is a champion of the Cisco culture and has an incredible ability to inspire, energize, and connect with employees, partners, customers and global leaders. Chuck’s vision, strategy and execution track record is exactly what Cisco needs as we enter our next chapter, which I am confident will be even more impactful and exciting than our last.”
“Chuck is clearly the leader for Cisco’s future, and he has the unanimous support of the Board of Directors,” said Roderick C. McGeary, Cisco Board Director, Chair of the Compensation and Management Development Committee, and the lead of the search committee. “The board has always had a strong focus on succession planning. We initiated the formal CEO succession process 16 months ago, searching internally and externally to find the best leader for our employees, customers, partners and shareholders. With John Chambers taking the role of Executive Chairman and Chuck Robbins taking the role of CEO, the board is very confident Cisco has the leadership to drive its success for the next chapter.”
References: http://newsroom.cisco.com/…/articleId=1628419
Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss. What Cisco needed was a CEO like John Legere. I’m not impressed. What can we look forward to? Cisco shipping the same old gear with a little more hardware power and a few features added on each yearly iteration or acquiring someone else’s technology and calling it their own.