Cisco's Elfrink Gets $1M Bonus

11:00 AM -- Wim Elfrink, who led Cisco Systems Inc.'s globalization efforts and its major push into India, is getting $1 million as part of his return to the United States. A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday described a new localization agreement for the chief globalisation officer (Cisco spells it with an "s," for that international flair). Elfrink actually moved to the U.S. in 2011, a Cisco spokesman notes. The filing was apparently necessary because of Elfrink's new salary agreement, which includes cash payments of $700,000 this month and $300,000 in January 2014, assuming he stays with Cisco. Elfrink's location is of some interest because he's the exec who moved to India, along with his family, in 2006 to lead Cisco's major push there. The company was turning Bangalore into a second headquarters of sorts, pushing its India investments to beyond $1 billion. At the time, Cisco was talking about assigning 20 percent of its senior management to that site. (See The Cisco Brain Drain and Cisco Hearts India.) Cisco puts a lot into its international markets. The idea is to get embedded into a country by developing strong ties with the government. I sat in on an explanation of the process, years ago, and found it compelling. With Elfrink now based in the U.S., maybe I'll get a chance to grill him about brand-building in India someday. — Craig Matsumoto, Managing Editor, Light Reading