Networking giant Cisco today said it has appointed Chuck Robbins as its Chief Executive Officer.
Robbins will take over from John Chambers, who will assume the role of Executive Chairman and continue to serve on the Board of the over USD 47 billion firm.
"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," Chambers said.
Robbins, who has most recently served as Cisco's senior vice president of worldwide operations, was also elected to the Board of Directors, effective May 1, 2015.
Chambers added that Robbins, who will take over from July 26 as the new CEO, knows every Cisco segment, technology area, and geography, and will move the company forward with the speed required to capitalise on the opportunities ahead, he added.
The California-based firm at present derives about two per cent of its global revenues from India and is targetting to grow this to five per cent over the next four years on the back of strong demand for cloud and networking services.
Cisco employs over 10,000 people in India across Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Hyderabad. Of these, 8,000 are a part of the R&D set-up.
Robbins joined the Nasdaq-listed firm in 1997 and has helped lead and execute many of the company's investments and strategy shifts. He was also a key architect of the company's strategy for the commercial business segment, which now represents 25 per cent of Cisco's total business.
"The opportunity that lies ahead for Cisco is enormous, and the ability to lead this next chapter is deeply humbling and incredibly exhilarating. I am focused on accelerating the innovation and execution that our customers need from us," Robbins said.
Chambers, now CEO and Chairman of the Cisco Board of Directors, will devote his time to supporting Robbins and engaging closely with customers and governments.
He has served as CEO of Cisco since January 1995, having joined the company in 1991 as the head of sales. He is credited to have grown the company from USD 1.2 billion in annual revenue to its current run rate of USD 48 billion.
