Chuck Robbins will be New Cisco CEO

Cisco named Chuck Robbins today as new CEO following John Chambers.

The era of John Chambers as Cisco CEO ends on July 26. Cisco today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Chuck Robbins as Chief Executive Officer. John Chambers will assume the role of Executive Chairman on July 26, 2015, and will continue to serve as the Chairman of Cisco’s Board.

“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,” said Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers.

“Today’s pace of change is exponential. Every company, city and country is becoming digital, navigating disruptive markets, and Cisco’s role in the digital transformation has never been more important. Our next CEO needs to thrive in a highly dynamic environment, to be capable of accelerating what is working very well for Cisco, and disrupting what needs to change. Chuck is unique in his ability to translate vision and strategy into world-class execution, bringing together teams and ecosystems to drive results.

Chuck knows every Cisco segment, technology area, and geography, and will move the company forward with the speed required to capitalize on the opportunities in front of us. He is a champion of the Cisco culture and has an incredible ability to inspire, energize, and connect with employees, partners, customers and global leaders. Chuck’s vision, strategy and execution track record is exactly what Cisco needs as we enter our next chapter, which I am confident will be even more impactful and exciting than our last.”

Chuck Robbins joined Cisco in 1997 and most recently served as Cisco’s senior vice president of worldwide operations, leading the company’s global sales and partner team that drives $47B in business for the company.

“I joined Cisco 17 years ago because I wanted to be a part of a company where I believed the possibilities were limitless. Today, I am even more convinced that Cisco is that company,” said Chuck Robbins. “Over the past 20 years, John Chambers’ vision and leadership have built Cisco into one of the most important companies in the world; a company fiercely committed to delivering for its customers, shareholders, partners, and employees.

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. Their success will continue to drive us.  At a time when our industry is on the cusp of more disruption than we’ve ever encountered, I couldn’t be more confident in our ability to win, or more honored to lead this great company.”

John Chambers joined Cisco in 1991. Since January 1995, when he was 46 years old he assumed the role of CEO. He grew Cisco from a $70m annual revenues to well over $40 billion now. Founded in 1984, Cisco (Nasdaq CSCO) offers technology that connect everything people, process, data and things.