Cisco Taps Autodesk Executive as CFO, Succeeding Kelly Kramer
November 12 2020 - 7:23PM
Dow Jones News
By Mark Maurer and Kristin Broughton
Cisco Systems Inc. named an industry veteran as its new finance
chief, beefing up the network-equipment firm's efforts to enhance
its subscriptions and software business.
The San Jose, Calif.-based company on Thursday said R. Scott
Herren will take on the role of financial officer and executive
vice president, effective Dec. 18. He joins from design-software
company Autodesk Inc., where he has served as CFO since 2014.
At Cisco, Mr. Herren will succeed Kelly Kramer, who became the
company's finance chief in January 2015. Cisco in August announced
Ms. Kramer's intention to retire and stated she would stay on until
the company found a successor.
"With a background in software, Scott will be instrumental in
helping us accelerate our shift toward a software-based business
model," Cisco Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins said.
The company Thursday also said its revenue fell for the fourth
consecutive quarter, totaling $11.93 billion for the period ended
Oct. 24, down 9% from a year earlier, as enterprise and commercial
orders slipped during the pandemic. Cisco plans to achieve more
than $1 billion in cost savings on an annualized basis, including
an unspecified number of job cuts to achieve this target.
San Rafael, Calif.-based Autodesk said it has begun its search
for Mr. Herren's successor. He will leave Autodesk in mid-December,
the company said.
During his time at Autodesk, Mr. Herren helped lead the
company's shift from sales of perpetual licenses to recurring
subscriptions and software as a service. Mr. Herren said in August
the model provided a steadier source of revenue and enabled the
company to provide new innovations to customers on a frequent basis
instead of once a year. "It's easier for [customers] to absorb," he
said.
Mr. Herren also oversaw Autodesk's investments in cloud-based
software capabilities, which helped customers switch to remote work
during the pandemic, he said.
Before Autodesk, Mr. Herren spent 14 years at Citrix Systems
Inc., another software company.
Cisco declined to comment beyond its statement.
--Maria Armental contributed to this article.
Write to Mark Maurer at mark.maurer@wsj.com and Kristin
Broughton at Kristin.Broughton@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 12, 2020 19:08 ET (00:08 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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