Cisco’s John Chambers to step down as executive chairman

Cisco CEO John Chambers on political repercussions from leaks about the United States spyingCisco said its executive chairman John Chambers will step down from the position in December.

John Chambers will receive the honorary title of Chairman Emeritus. Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins will become the new chairman when John Chambers’ term expires at the annual general meeting of the company on December 11, 2017.

John Chambers, who was named executive chairman on July 26, 2015, focused on supporting CEO Chuck Robbins and engaging with customers and governments through Cisco’s Country Digitization initiatives.

Chambers served as CEO of Cisco from January 1995 to July 26, 2015, having joined the company in 1991 as the head of sales. During his time as CEO, he built the company from $1.2 billion in annual revenue to nearly $50 billion.

“John’s influence on the networking industry is immense and he built Cisco around a culture of integrity and innovation that will continue to serve our employees, partners and customers for decades to come,” said Chuck Robbins, chief executive officer of Cisco.