Yesterday afternoon Cisco announced it has selected a new CEO. Instead of recruiting a big gun from outside of the company, Cisco looked inside and found a relatively unknown Senior Vice President, Chuck Rollins, who has quietly risen over the years across a number of divisions of the company, passing over the President who was universally expect to take the top spot.
According to published reports, the Board pursued a methodical and measured process that culminated in presentations by the final candidates to the Board outlining their vision for the future of the company. By all accounts, Rollins was a great choice based on his extraordinary track record combined with how he saw Cisco of the future.
I was struck by this news because more often than not, companies often turn to the outside for their next CEO, and rarely follow such a thoughtful process. I bring this to your attention because a well-executed succession planning process often produces extraordinary results.
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