It depends on how literally you take the word "run," but one news report seems to say Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) has found someone to take Scott Kriens's place as CEO.

The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday that Kevin Johnson, president of Platforms and Services at Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), is leaving that job to "run" Juniper.

A Juniper spokesman reached Wednesday evening declined to comment, which is Juniper's policy when it comes to rumors.

Johnson was responsible for Microsoft's bid to buy Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), so most news outlets are asking what this means for his old employer. (If you somehow don't know what we're talking about, see News Bits: Icahn, Yahoo Settle and Yahoo Questions Icahn's Competence, Investment Record.)

His supposedly new position is startling in itself, though, because Kriens hadn't been showing signs of looking for another CEO.

Now 12 years old, Juniper needs some changes in order to graduate to the next level of business, many observers believe. The company is certainly branching into new territory, trying to make itself more attractive for high-end enterprise networks, for example. (See Feature Story: Juniper's Enterprise Vision.)

But does the next era require a new CEO? Kriens seemed taken aback when Light Reading asked early this year. (See Scott Kriens, CEO, Juniper Networks.) Johnson, who's gone up against Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) at his previous job, would certainly have the credentials of having worked at bigger companies for higher stakes.

If Juniper has anything big to announce, Thursday might be the day to do it. That's when the company is set to report earnings.

— Craig Matsumoto, West Coast Editor, Light Reading