Cisco Names New CMO

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO - News) today announced executive changes in support of the company's growth strategies. Effective immediately Susan L. Bostrom has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and named an executive officer of the company. Bostrom succeeds James Richardson, who has been appointed Senior Vice President (SVP), Commercial Business, a new role created to accelerate Cisco's opportunity in its fastest growing customer segment made up of small and medium-sized businesses. Bostrom and Richardson will continue to report directly to Cisco President and CEO John Chambers.

"With Cisco at the mid-point of its fiscal year, these strategic organizational moves will build on the momentum we've captured from recent evolutions in our sales and engineering organizations that have positioned us well to meet our growth opportunity," said John Chambers, president and CEO, Cisco Systems. "We always try to look three to five years out in the decisions we make and there's no question that the Cisco brand, our opportunity in the commercial market and the evolution of our leaders are going to take us to the next level."

In her new role as CMO, Bostrom will focus on extending the company's strategic positioning, branding, advertising programs, and associated growth initiatives as the company targets a broader customer base. She will be responsible for expanding marketing's role as a stimulus for Cisco's growth strategy and cultivating new opportunities in both new and existing market segments.

An eight-year Cisco veteran, Bostrom most recently led Cisco's Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), an organization she created and built from the ground up to bring vertical expertise and Internet best practices to Global Fortune 500 companies, governors, and heads of state. In addition, Bostrom continues to lead Cisco's Worldwide Government Affairs organization where her leadership has driven and expanded Cisco's policy thought leadership and coverage of key global issues such as healthcare. Her strong industry background includes more than 20 years of marketing experience at companies including Cisco, National Semiconductor, AT&T, McKinsey and Company, and FTP Software.

In his new role as SVP, Commercial Business, Richardson will be responsible for driving company-wide initiatives on a global basis in the commercial market segment. He will be responsible for executing on the strategy for Cisco's commercial market aligning products, services, marketing, and sales strategies in order to realize the growth potential of this market.

As one of the most experienced general managers at Cisco, Richardson's tenure at Cisco spans more than 16 years, including leading the company's Enterprise Line of Business and successively from 1992 to 1999 each theatre sales organization. As CMO for the past four years, Richardson has led the transformation of the function into a world-class outbound marketing organization which has been recognized as the best-in-class for effectiveness and efficiency in high-tech marketing.

"Strong business leaders with the ability to succeed in multiple positions on our team is a core competitive advantage for Cisco," continued Chambers. "Both Sue and James are extremely strong leaders with a proven track record at Cisco and within the industry. Their achievements are world-class, and I am confident they are both in the right roles at the right time to make significant contributions to Cisco's future success."

Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO)