Cisco Announces Leadership Evolution to Support Growth Strategy; Susan L. Bostrom Named Chief Marketing Officer; James Richardson to Lead Cisco's Commercial Business

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) today announcedexecutive changes in support of the company's growth strategies.Effective immediately Susan L. Bostrom has been appointed ChiefMarketing Officer (CMO) and named an executive officer of the company.Bostrom succeeds James Richardson, who has been appointed Senior VicePresident (SVP), Commercial Business, a new role created to accelerateCisco's opportunity in its fastest growing customer segment made up ofsmall and medium-sized businesses. Bostrom and Richardson willcontinue to report directly to Cisco President and CEO John Chambers.

"With Cisco at the mid-point of its fiscal year, these strategicorganizational moves will build on the momentum we've captured fromrecent evolutions in our sales and engineering organizations that havepositioned us well to meet our growth opportunity," said JohnChambers, president and CEO, Cisco Systems. "We always try to lookthree to five years out in the decisions we make and there's noquestion that the Cisco brand, our opportunity in the commercialmarket and the evolution of our leaders are going to take us to thenext level."

In her new role as CMO, Bostrom will focus on extending thecompany's strategic positioning, branding, advertising programs, andassociated growth initiatives as the company targets a broadercustomer base. She will be responsible for expanding marketing's roleas a stimulus for Cisco's growth strategy and cultivating newopportunities in both new and existing market segments.

An eight-year Cisco veteran, Bostrom most recently led Cisco'sInternet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), an organization she createdand built from the ground up to bring vertical expertise and Internetbest practices to Global Fortune 500 companies, governors, and headsof state. In addition, Bostrom continues to lead Cisco's WorldwideGovernment Affairs organization where her leadership has driven andexpanded Cisco's policy thought leadership and coverage of key globalissues such as healthcare. Her strong industry background includesmore than 20 years of marketing experience at companies includingCisco, National Semiconductor, AT&T, McKinsey and Company, and FTPSoftware.

In his new role as SVP, Commercial Business, Richardson will beresponsible for driving company-wide initiatives on a global basis inthe commercial market segment. He will be responsible for executing onthe strategy for Cisco's commercial market aligning products,services, marketing, and sales strategies in order to realize thegrowth potential of this market.

As one of the most experienced general managers at Cisco,Richardson's tenure at Cisco spans more than 16 years, includingleading the company's Enterprise Line of Business and successivelyfrom 1992 to 1999 each theatre sales organization. As CMO for the pastfour years, Richardson has led the transformation of the function intoa world-class outbound marketing organization which has beenrecognized as the best-in-class for effectiveness and efficiency inhigh-tech marketing.

"Strong business leaders with the ability to succeed in multiplepositions on our team is a core competitive advantage for Cisco,"continued Chambers. "Both Sue and James are extremely strong leaderswith a proven track record at Cisco and within the industry. Theirachievements are world-class, and I am confident they are both in theright roles at the right time to make significant contributions toCisco's future success."

About Cisco Systems

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is the worldwide leader innetworking for the Internet. Information on Cisco can be found athttp://www.cisco.com.