John Chambers, Chairman and CEO of the $48 billion networking major, Cisco is visiting Bengaluru on June 19; a year after his last visit to Mumbai in June 2014.
Chambers will be accompanied by incoming CEO Chuck Robbins, who will take over the reigns effective July 26as the company starts FY 2016 on August 1.
‘India All hands’ meetingChambers and Robbins will host an “India All Hands” meeting from the Bengaluru campus via Cisco TV from 2.45pm – 4pm wherein all of 12,500 Cisco’s India employees have been invited to join.
Chambers will introduce the new CEO and the latter will chalk out his vision for the company’s next phase of growth. Chambers continues to serve as chairman of the company’s board and will become executive chairman effective July 26.
Cisco insiders told BusinessLine that Chambers has made the right choice for CEO, as Robbins is known for his expert execution, reinvention of Cisco’s sales organisation and as a member of the team that has led the company’s transformation from a networking infrastructure provider to a digital solutions provider. However, Robbins’ appointment has led to some key exits within the company.
Presidents Rob Lloyd and Garry Moore, who were considered prime candidates to replace Chambers as CEO, are exiting the company on July 25. Chief Technology and Strategy Officer, Padmasree Warrior, will step down in September; Senior vice-president of Cisco Services, Edzard Overbeek has decided to quit and will stay on till the transition as strategic advisor and Wim Elfrink, Cisco’s chief globalisation officer who opened the company’s second global headquarters in Bengaluru will retire on July 25.
Meanwhile, the spotlight will be trained on Dinesh Malkani, Cisco’s India head of sales who had promised to deliver over $1 billion in revenue in FY 2015 during Chambers’ visit to India last June; a target that has been eluding the company over the last four years. Malkani has until July-end to fulfil that promise, when the company’s financial year comes to an end.