11:20 AM Former Cisco exec Mike Volpi boards the Ericsson train

March 9, 2010

1 Min Read
What Volpi Did Next

11:20 AM -- Mike Volpi, best known for his high profile and lengthy stint as chief strategy officer and head of the service provider business at Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), has joined the board at Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC). (See Ericsson Adds to Board.)

Volpi, who suffered a torturous time as the CEO of online video startup Joost , is currently a partner at VC firm Index Ventures . (See Volpi Takes the Helm at Joost, Joost, Joltid Sue Volpi, Joost Sells Off Scraps, and Former Cisco VP Volpi Becomes VC.)

He left Cisco in February 2007 -- shortly after being named among our Top Ten Movers & Shakers in Telecom -- when it became clear John Chambers had dug himself into the CEO chair for the long haul. (See Volpi Out at Cisco.)

And now he's back in the heart of the industry, albeit one step removed from day-to-day management. Will he be able to resist the temptation to get back to the coalface?

If he does dive back into the fray, it's hard to imagine Volpi will want to be anything other than a CEO, now that he's had a taste of being in charge. A play for the top seat at Ericsson looks like a non-starter: New CEO Hans Vestberg has only just taken the helm (from January 1) and certainly doesn't look to be out of his depth. In fact, he's the other new addition to Ericsson's board. (See MWC 2010: Ericsson Launches App Store and Ericsson Names New CEO.)

All speculation on what Volpi should do next is most welcome on the message boards below. — Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading

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