TORONTO, ON - August 22, 2002 - Pierre-Paul Allard, president, Cisco Systems Canada is pleased to announce the promotion of Steve Simmons to vice-president of Canadian channel operations. In his new role, Mr. Simmons will be responsible for overseeing all Canadian channel activities including enterprise, service provider and distribution partners.

Mr. Simmons will be taking over the role from Brent Rebus, who has been appointed to vice-president, Canadian enterprise and small and medium business (SMB) operations.

"In his more than six years at Cisco, Steve has consistently demonstrated leadership in driving Cisco's channel strategy to success, and in the development of a highly efficient distribution model," said Allard. "Steve brings a sound understanding of the partner community to his new role, and his nomination will be instrumental in further development of our Canadian sales strategy and initiatives for FY03."

Cisco's partner program is designed to help partners create a sustainable business model in a fast-changing environment, where customers require value-added services, focused technical expertise and higher levels of satisfaction. Mr. Simmons' focus will be to strengthen Cisco's relationships with its partners in order to build these successful models in meeting Cisco's customer requirements.

Mr. Simmons joined Cisco in 1997 and held the responsibility of managing Cisco's distribution business. He was subsequently promoted to various management positions in supporting Cisco's integrated channel strategy. Prior to joining Cisco, he spent five years in various sales and marketing management functions within the system integrator community.

Mr. Simmons holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from Wilfrid Laurier University, with a major focus in finance.

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Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. News and information are available at www.cisco.com.

About Cisco Systems Canada

Cisco Systems Canada Co. has offices across Canada dedicated to customer support, sales, and service. In addition, Cisco Systems has a significant research and development centre in Ottawa, Ontario.

Press Contacts:

• Willa Black
  Cisco Systems Canada Co
  416-306-7732
  E-mail: wblack@cisco.com
  
  
• Monica Salvo
  Strategic/Ampersand Inc. (for Cisco Systems Canada)
  416-961-5595 ext. 438
  E-mail: monica@stratamp.com