Cisco’s Robbins Taps New Top Exec Team: Lloyd, Moore, Warrior, Overbeek, Elfrink Out

Some seven weeks before he takes Cisco’s (CSCO) helm, incoming chief executive Chuck Robbins showcased his “next generation” leadership team to guide the company into what outgoing boss John Chambers has taken to calling the new world of digitization.

As happens with these sorts of things, some lieutenants counted on under the prior regime are shown the door, as is the case with Robbins’ ascension. Development and Sales president Rob Lloyd, once thought to be the leading candidate to replace Chambers, and Gary Moore, president and chief operating officer, also said at one point to be in line to run the company, both will exit on July 25. Wim Elfrink, Industry Solutions executive vice president and chief globalization officer, will retire on the same day.

Most of Robbins’ newly-named bosses previously reported to either Lloyd or Moore.

Cisco also said that Padmasree Warrior, chief technology and strategy officer (CTO), and Edzard Overbeek, Cisco Services vice president, have been reassigned as advisors, with the former slated to officially depart in September and the latter a year from now.

Robbins outlined his new team in a blog post, writing, “We have been developing and attracting our next generation of leaders for many years, and I’m confident that this team is ready to lead Cisco’s next chapter. They know how Cisco works, what makes Cisco great, and how we can accelerate our current momentum.”

The changes to Cisco’s top brass didn’t directly hit the channel organization, quite possibly reflecting Robbins’ long-standing, full-on support of partners. There’s no indication that the team Robbins has surrounded himself with will do anything other than continue to rely on the channel for the lion’s share of its sales.

Here’s Robbins’ new executive lineup:

Robbins said that he is “committed to investing in and developing Cisco’s extended leadership team over time.” He also said that he’s not done with filling key roles but the remainder of his new executive hires will come from the outside. “I plan to also look externally to fill several roles that will lead key growth initiatives in new markets,” Robbins wrote.

Naming a new team nearly two months before he steps onto the throne is a bold move for Robbins, one that signals to its customers, partners and competitors that the Chambers era is officially over. It will be interesting to see how Robbins’ new team transitions in the next few weeks to hit the ground running when the changes become official.