A month after naming Chuck Robbins as its next CEO, Cisco announced Monday that its two presidents are resigning. President of Sales and Development Rob Lloyd and President and COO Gary Moore will step down July 25, a day before Robbins replaces longtime Cisco CEO John Chambers.
"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, Cisco senior vice president of worldwide field operations and a 17-year company veteran, wrote in a blog announcing the executive departures.
Robbins praised Lloyd and Moore for their work and said he will announce his new 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 wrote.
Cisco's choice of Robbins to replace Chambers surprised many industry pundits, many who had expected the company to pick the higher profile Lloyd. Lloyd's 21-year career at Cisco included overseeing the introduction of the UCS server and Nexus TOR switch product line.
Moore joined Cisco in 2001 as head of services and was named the company's first COO in 2011.
Next week at Cisco Live in San Deigo, Robbins is expected to join Chambers in Chambers' final keynote as CEO. Chambers will remain at the company as Cisco's executive chairman and the chairman of the board.
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