6:40 AM -- Reports on Monday said Cisco Systems Inc.'s top mergers-and-acquisitions executive, Charles Carmel, has left the company for private equity firm Warburg Pincus.
Carmel came from the investment banking sector in the first place -- Goldman Sachs & Co. -- so the destination isn't that surprising. What's noteworthy, of course, is that Cisco is expected to lose a few notable executives during this restructuring, whether they're reorganized out of the company or choose to leave. (See Cisco Simplifies; Cuts 6,500 Jobs, Cisco's Videoscape Leader Resigns and Who Else Is Exiting Cisco?)
Carmel certainly counts as noteworthy. His highlight reel at Cisco includes two big acquisitions: WebEx and Tandberg. (See Cisco Bets $3B on Tandberg and Will WebEx Change Cisco?)
Now, Cisco isn't done acquiring things, as shown with Monday's small deal with Comptel Corp.. It's even possible that Cisco would favor large acquisitions that serve its five priority areas; that's a possible interpretation of CEO John Chambers's pledge to move more quickly, said Yankee Group Research Inc. analyst Zeus Kerravala after a Chambers keynote last month. (See Cisco, Comptel Strike a SPIT Deal and Chambers Promises a Simpler Cisco.)
In any event, the M&A machine will be downshifted for a little while, so Cisco can afford to lighten the roster in that department. Carmel's replacement will be his top lieutenant, Hilton Romanski.
— Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading
