Cisco Systems Inc.'s new chief executive marked his first day in
the job by naming two outsiders to high-profile management
posts.
Chuck Robbins, who assumed the CEO role at the networking
equipment maker Monday after John Chambers' ended his tenure after
20 years, said in a blog post that Zorawar Biri Singh will serve as
senior vice president and chief technology officer. He joins Cisco
from Khosla Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture-capital firm, but
has held prior positions at technology companies that include
Hewlett-Packard Co. and International Business Machines Corp.
Mr. Robbins said Kevin Bandy will serve as senior vice president
and chief digital officer, a job that includes helping Cisco
customers change their businesses to incorporate new technologies
and services. He joins Cisco from Salesforce.com Inc.
"In the digital world, data—and the insights from that data—will
be the most strategic asset," Mr. Robbins wrote. "The ability to
secure, aggregate, automate, and draw insights from the data—with
speed—will ultimately define success."
Mr. Robbins, whose appointment was announced in May, has already
taken other steps to put his mark on the leadership ranks of the
San Jose, Calif., company. He announced a management structure in
early June that excluded three longtime executives, all of whom are
leaving the company. Two presidents, Gary Moore and Rob Lloyd, are
also leaving the company.
A key goal, Mr. Robbins has said, is to give Cisco a flatter
executive structure that can make decisions more quickly.
Mr. Robbins, who is 49 years old and has worked at Cisco 17
years, has also moved to discontinue businesses that aren't central
to the company's strategy.
Cisco said Friday that it will stop selling data-storage
hardware, a business it entered with its $415 million acquisition
of the Whiptail in 2013. The company also said last week that
Technicolor SA had agreed to pay about $600 million to buy Cisco's
TV set-top business, a major part of a $6.9 billion acquisition
completed in 2006.
Mr. Chambers, who is 65, remains chairman. The company plans to
celebrate his tenure and the appointment of Mr. Robbins at an event
Monday at the San Francisco 49ers' football stadium in Santa Clara,
Calif.
Write to Don Clark at don.clark@wsj.com
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