Less than a month after Cisco Systems named Chuck Robbins as its next CEO, two company presidents are on their way out the door as the tech giant looks to simplify its operational structure.
Robbins announced on the company’s corporate blog Monday that Cisco’s presidents – Rob Lloyd and Gary Moore – will be leaving Cisco at the end of the company’s fiscal year, retaining their current rules until July 25.
And that's not all, apparently. Re/code reported Monday that Padmasree Warrior, Cisco's chief technology and strategy officer, will be leaving the company sometime this summer and has been weighing new job opportunities. Warrior joined Cisco in 2008, and previously served as EVP and CTO at Motorola. Update: “Per Chuck’s blog of earlier today, he plans to announce his full leadership team within two weeks. We won’t be commenting on rumors on who might be part of that team or not in the interim," Cisco spokeswoman Robyn Blum said in a statement.
“Going forward, we will move to a flatter leadership team designed for the speed, innovation and execution that is required of us over the next decade,” Robbins wrote, thanking the execs for their “tremendous leadership.”
"Looking ahead, I will announce my next generation organizational structure and my leadership team within two weeks. This simplified structure will allow us to move with speed to accelerate our innovation and help our customers transform in the digital age," he added.
A 21-year vet of Cisco, Lloyd has been serving as president of sales and development and leading Cisco’s Internet of Everything business. He was a keynoter at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo last September, in Denver.
Moore was Cisco’s first president and COO, and joined the company in 2001. Cisco Services has seen annual revenues rise from $3 billion to $10 billion during his tenure, Robbins pointed out.
Lloyd and Moore bid their farewells in the form of complimentary blog posts on Monday.
Lloyd said he decided to leave Cisco “to begin the next chapter in my career,” recalling that he joined as president and general manager of Cisco Canada in 1994, inheriting a team of 40.
“I feel that Cisco is very well positioned to lead yet again in the world of Software Defined Networking and Network Function Virtualization as we begin to monetize our vast software assets in new and exciting ways,” Lloyd wrote.
“Cisco’s future is very bright and with Chuck’s leadership, you will seize the opportunities ahead," Moore added in his post.
Cisco named company vet Robbins as the next CEO of Cisco on May 4. He’ll come into that role full-time on July 26, succeeding long-time company leader John Chambers, who will become Cisco’s executive chairman and remain chairman of Cisco’s board.
