Cisco Names Services Vet To Newly Created COO Post

Cisco did not previously have a COO position. In the role, Moore will be responsible for engineering, marketing, operations and services organizations at the networking titan, and also, according to Cisco, "the alignment and prioritization of company investments and ensuring operational excellence across the company."

"Gary is a seasoned and trusted leader who consistently delivers results," said Chambers in a statement. "He is uniquely qualified to drive strategic prioritization and accountability within Cisco, with a laser-focus on operational excellence."

Moore's appointment is effective immediately, according to Cisco, and his full title is executive vice president and chief operating officer.

"Cisco's strategy has never been more compelling, and we have won the hearts and minds of our customers," Moore said in a statement. "I am incredibly energized to help and lead the company to its next phase of innovation tied with operational excellence."

As head of Cisco Services, which according to Cisco has about an $8 billion revenue run rate, he ran a team of more than 10,000 employees.

Moore joined Cisco in 2001 from a previous post as CEO of Netigy Corp., a computer networking consultancy. Before Netigy, Moore worked at Electronic Data Systems (EDS) for 26 years. He was also president and CEO of Hitachi Data Systems from 1989 to 1992, following the 1989 formation of HDS via a joint venture of Hitachi and EDS acquiring and renaming National Advanced Systems.

Chambers referenced Moore in a recent interview with CRN, naming services as a key growth area for Cisco partners.

"Playing at the level, the ability to make money is going to be more in services so services will be a key element of the future," Chambers said. "[We'll] watch our services probably grow five to 10 percent faster than our core business and that should be true of our partners as well. When there will be some overlap, our golden rule is with Gary Moore: customer satisfaction. It's about margin and it's about our partners having five to 10 times the services that we do, in terms of revenue and people than we do."

Moore's ascent follows several recent high level executive departures at Cisco. Susan Bostrom, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, confirmed in late January she would step down. And Tony Bates, Cisco's former senior vice president, enterprise, commercial and small business group, became the CEO of Skype at the end of October.