MEXICO CITY, August 3, 2009 - Cisco is pleased to announce the appointment of Rogelio Velasco as the new country manager for Cisco Mexico. Velasco will lead all Cisco operations in Mexico, one of the key globalization priorities for Cisco.

Rogelio Velasco brings to Cisco more than 20 years of expertise in the information technology and communications industry in Mexico and Latin America.

Prior to joining Cisco, Velasco was the general manager for Dell in Mexico during past two years.

Prior to that, Velasco held several key high level sales positions, including general director Siemens Mesoamerica, information and communication areas; president Caribbean and Latin America Lucent Technologies; president and general manager Mexico Lucent Technologies; and general manager Digital for Mexico.

"I am very confident Rogelio will execute our strategy of utilizing technology and its benefits to promote digital inclusion drive economic growth and enhance the competitiveness and productivity of Mexico, and he will bring our operation in Mexico to the next level," said Jaime Vallés, Cisco vice president, Latin America.

Velasco holds an MBA from Florida International University and has a B.S. in physics from Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico City. 

Notes to editors:

Key Facts & Figures:

• On April 24, Cisco and the Mexican government signed an agreement to help the country advance in terms of global competitiveness and gross domestic product by 2025.
• Mexico represents a key global priority and growth opportunity for Cisco.
• Cisco created a Mexico Board within the company to lead Cisco's Mexican operations and help increase Mexico's global competitiveness and standard of living by providing information and communications technology tools, knowledge and execution through a public-private relationship.
• Executive members of the board include Paul Mountford, president of Emerging Markets; Jaime Vallés, vice president of Latin America; Carlos Dominguez, senior vice president with the office of the chairman and CEO; and Angel Mendez, senior vice president of Customer Value Chain Management.
• Cisco has committed significant personnel and operations to Mexico, including a large manufacturing presence in Ciudad Juárez.
• In fiscal year 2008, product bookings in Mexico grew approximately 30 percent over the prior year.  
• The Cisco Networking Academy® program currently has more than 50,000 students enrolled in Mexico, the second-largest student population for the corporation after the United States.
• Mexico has 389 Cisco Networking Academy sites nationally, which have trained more than 161,000 students since the program's inception in 1998.