ADSK Autodesk Inc

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)

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