Possible reasons?
Chambers admits multiple people will be groomed for possible advancement, and that brings up something analyst Bill Choi at Jefferies & Company Inc. pointed out. It's not a rumor, just an observation.
Look at the seven-person development council formed this month. There's a new slot for consumer products, an area where Cisco hasn't fully defined its goals. It's being run by Ned Hooper. He's been handling M&A and was profiled in Business Week in April.
Reportedly, Chambers is saying Hooper is one of those being singled out for grooming -- in the executive sense, not the Head & Shoulders sense.
Maybe Hooper's is a name to watch.
— Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading