More Cisco Shake-Up: 2 Presidents, CTO Out as Robbins Takes the Reins

**Editor’s Note: Click here to see which channel people were on the move in April and May.**

By Edward Gately

Cisco Systems is shedding two company presidents as it shifts to a “flatter leadership team” with the arrival of Chuck Robbins as CEO.

Gary Moore, president and COO, and Rob Lloyd, president of development and sales, are leaving the company on July 25. Robbins announced the departures and his plans for leadership changes in his June 1 blog.

“Looking ahead, I will announce my next-generation organizational structure and my leadership team within two weeks,” Robbins said. “This simplified structure will allow us to move with speed to accelerate our innovation and help our customers transform in the digital age.”

Moore, Cisco’s first president and COO, joined the company in 2001 as the leader of Cisco Services, and under his leadership, Cisco Services’ annual revenue grew from $3 billion to nearly $10 billion.

In his blog, Moore said his decision to depart “has not been an easy one.” He told Cisco employees that “it has been a privilege to be your leader.”

“I am proud of what we’ve achieved together,” he said. “Cisco’s future is very bright and with Chuck’s leadership, you will seize the opportunities ahead.”

Lloyd joined Cisco more than 20 years ago, and has lead two organizations that make up more than half of the company. He is credited with understanding future market opportunities and showing “unwavering commitment” to customers and partners, Robbins said.

In his own blog, Lloyd said he’s “very pleased” that Robbins is taking over as CEO.

“He’s an incredible leader and the entire Cisco family can count on him to accelerate this exciting journey,” Lloyd wrote.

Lloyd and Moore both were considered to be among Chambers’ potential successors when they were named presidents nearly three years ago. Lloyd in particular is well-known as being popular among the company’s solution providers.

The presidents aren’t the only ones on the outs. Re/code reported that Padmasree Warrior, who serves the company as CTO and chief strategy officer, will leave Cisco this summer as well. It’s not so surprising to see the presidents part ways with the new boss, but this one might take more people by surprise.

The company has seen completion increase and equipment sales fall somewhat over the past couple of years, so Robbins and the rest of Cisco’s leadership have their work cut out for them. For the first six months of fiscal 2015, Cisco saw a small increase in revenue, totaling $24.2 billion, up from $23.2 billion for the same time a year earlier.