6:40 AM -- Reports on Monday said Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO)'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. (Nasdaq, Helsinki: CTL1V). 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