Cisco's Robbins taps Romanski as CTO in management shakeup

Cisco's new CEO Chuck Robbins may not be officially taking the helm until July, but he's already putting his mark on his top management, naming company veteran Hilton Romanski as its new senior vice president and CTO and strategy officer.

Hilton Romanski, Cisco Padmasree Warrior, Cisco advisor

At left, Romanski. At right, Warrior. (Source: Cisco)

Romanski will take over these two roles from Padmasree Warrior, who will leave the company in September after serving as a strategic advisor to the company.

According to a Re/code article, Warrior is looking into taking on a CEO role for another company or as a managing partner at a venture capital firm. Warrior's impending departure from Cisco comes after Robbins announced on Monday that President Rob Lloyd and COO Gary Moore are also leaving the company.

Joe Cozzolino, who currently oversees Cisco's service provider and mobility units, will become the senior VP of services, taking over the role from Edzard Overbeek.

One new executive to join Cisco's top management team is Ruba Borno. Currently serving as the head of the media and telecommunications group at the Boston Consulting Group, Borno will be join Cisco as chief of staff.

Taking over Robbins' role as VP for worldwide sales will be 20-year Cisco veteran Chris Dedicoat, who currently serves as senior VP for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Russia.

Other appointments include Pankaj Patel as VP and chief development officer, while Cisco's Chief Information Officer Rebecca Jacoby will become senior VP of operations. Finally, Karen Walker was named chief marketing officer, replacing Blair Christie, who has been on a leave of absence from the company.

But it appears that the top management team isn't the only changes Robbins has in mind.

In a blog post, Robbins indicated that he wants to further simplify the company's structure.

"As I transition to the role of CEO, my focus areas are acceleration, simplification, operational rigor and culture," wrote Robbins in a blog post. "These will be the foundation for Cisco's continued evolution that will position us for the future."

For more:
- see this blog post
- Re/code has this article

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