SAN JOSE, Calif. – July 8, 2009 - Cisco today announced that Ned Hooper, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Consumer, would assume additional responsibilities as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO).  As CSO, Hooper will play a key leadership role in developing Cisco's business strategy and identifying market transitions to support the company in executing against growth opportunities. 

In his expanded role, Hooper will help shape Cisco's approach and business plans as it moves into new, adjacent markets and will drive the development of new business strategies that enable our customers to utilize technology to drive productivity and competitive advantage.  He will partner closely with Cisco's Operating Committee, Development Council, segment councils and Chief Technology Officer to develop strategies that tightly link business architecture with technology architecture.  A key part of Hooper's role will be to communicate our strategy to customers, partners, shareholders and employees

"As Cisco continues to focus on alignment and optimization of resources, making strategic investments in our business, and moving into market adjacencies, having seamless integration between business strategy and our technology vision is critical," said John Chambers, Cisco Chairman and CEO.  "With his outstanding track record of success, I am very confident in Ned's ability to help Cisco capitalize on our opportunities and drive the company's business strategy as we meet our customers' evolving expectations of their technology and business needs."

In his Corporate Development role, Hooper is responsible for Cisco's global growth strategy through business development activities including acquisitions, equity investment, and the incubation of innovative technologies.  As the leader of Cisco's consumer business, he will continue to drive the company's consumer strategy and the network as the platform vision to deliver the next generation consumer experiences in video entertainment and communications.

Hooper is an 11-year veteran of Cisco. Prior to his current role, he was Vice President of Business Development, where he led the company's acquisition strategy focusing on growth opportunities by entering new markets and integrating innovative technologies into Cisco businesses. Through acquisitions including Linksys, Scientific Atlanta, Webex, IronPort, Airspace and Pure Digital, he has led Cisco's expansion in new markets, resulting in more than $5 billion in additional annual revenue since 2002. 

Hooper joined Cisco through the acquisition of Lightspeed International, where he was Director of Business Development responsible for implementing a global distribution strategy.  He has an MBA from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business and a BA from the University of Colorado.