Cisco Names Chuck Robbins its Next CEO

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By Jacob Maslow

Cisco HQCisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) has announced that its next CEO will be Chuck Robbins. The announcement comes two years after the company discussed the retirement of CEO John Chambers, who is now 65 years old. At the time, Cisco said it had roughly 10 candidates in mind, and Robbins was one of them.

Robbins, a 17-year Cisco veteran, has led the company in global sales and partner team. But the announcement of him being named the next CEO was still a surprise to many. Rob Llyod had long been thought to be Chambers’ heir by people inside and outside the company. Llyod was in charge of global sales long before Robbins. More recently, he served as president of development and sales. Lloyd was known as Chambers’ right hand man, and it was assumed that Chambers was grooming him to be his replacement.

Gary Moore, COO, was another candidate for the job. Moore joined the company in 2001 and was promoted to COO in 2011. Moore and Llyod often made public appearances with Chamber.

While Robbins was a somewhat surprising choice for Cisco’s next CEO, he has the credentials for the job. According to a press release from the company, Robbins will take over as CEO on July 26, 2015.

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