Cisco Systems, Inc. ·CSCO

Product, operations, and go-to-market split at the top

Technology · Fortune #79 · Divisional structure · 90K employees · San Jose, CA

View as of:
7
CEO span
↓ tighter than peers (avg 8)
3.1
Avg span
moderate
3
Max depth
3 levels
3.6 yr
Avg tenure
↓ 1.2yr from FY2024
71%
Internal hires
↑ above industry avg
Consolidated financials FY2025 · period end 2025-07-26 · 10-K
Revenue
$56.7B
Operating income
$11.8B
Net income
$10.2B
Total assets
$122.3B
Shares out
3.95B

Sourced from Cisco Systems, Inc. DEF 14A · filed 2025-10-28 ↗ View on SEC

Interactive org chart

Cisco Systems, Inc. organizational chart

Explore the executive structure, reporting layers, and scenario-ready operating model from public filings.

Open editable chart

Product, operations, and go-to-market are split at the top of Cisco’s leadership structure. This page maps Cisco’s divisional executive org, profiles the CEO and direct reports, summarizes recent leadership changes, and compares Cisco’s structure with key technology peers.

What to model

Use the chart to test org decisions, not just view reporting lines

Start with the public baseline, then use the scenario views and source-backed changes to ask what happens when leadership, span, or team ownership shifts.

Latest signal Daniel H. Schulman departed as Director

Resigned from the Board effective May 21, 2026.

Source · See change log

Scenario views in the chart

  • Add Chief AI Officer Create a dedicated Chief AI Officer role to coordinate AI strategy across product and security.
  • Go-to-Market President Departs Remove the President, Go-to-Market role and redistribute sales leadership under regional heads.

Atlas work this supports

  • Connect Workday or UKG Get these analytics for YOUR org — tenure, span of control, headcount, automatically from your HRIS.
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  • Plan a Reorg Use this as a starting point. Model scenarios, compare structures, present options to your board.

The people

Who's running this

8 executives identified as Named Executive Officers in the most recent SEC proxy. Bar length scales with tenure.

internal

Charles H. Robbins

Chair and Chief Executive Officer

Executive

10 yr

14 reports

internal

Jeetu Patel

President and Chief Product Officer

Product

1 yr

3 reports

internal

Thimaya Subaiya

Executive Vice President, Operations

Operations

2 yr

2 reports

Gary Steele

Former President, Go-to-Market

Sales

1 yr

0 reports

internal

Dev Stahlkopf

Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer

Legal

6 yr

1 reports

internal

Nichlas A. Fink

Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer

Finance

0 yr

1 reports

internal

Kelly A. Kramer

Chief People Officer

HR

5 yr

0 reports

Open Role

Chief Security and Trust Officer

Security

1 yr

0 reports

The pay

Executive compensation

From the most recent DEF 14A Summary Compensation Table. 2 named executive officers disclosed. Bar length scales with total compensation.

Charles H. Robbins $52.8M
Base salary
$1.39M
Stock awards
$45.87M
Non-equity incentive
$5.12M
Other
$461K
Fiscal year
FY2025
Source
SEC DEF 14A ↗
Jeetu Patel $25.7M
Base salary
$859K
Stock awards
$22.74M
Non-equity incentive
$1.95M
Other
$139K
Fiscal year
FY2025
Source
SEC DEF 14A ↗

The businesses

How Cisco Systems, Inc. divides the work

4 divisions report into the group CEO. Tile size scales with estimated headcount.

Product & Engineering

30K employees

President and Chief Product Officer (Jeetu Patel)

Designs and develops Cisco’s networking, security, collaboration, and observability products.

Operations

20K employees

Executive Vice President, Operations (Thimaya Subaiya)

Oversees supply chain, manufacturing, and global operational execution.

Go-to-Market

25K employees

President, Go-to-Market (Gary Steele)

Leads global sales, channels, and customer engagement.

Legal & Compliance

2K employees

Chief Legal Officer (Dev Stahlkopf)

Manages legal, regulatory, and corporate governance matters.

The thesis

Why this org is unusual

Product, operations, and go-to-market are each led by distinct executives reporting directly to the CEO, creating a deliberate separation of build, run, and sell responsibilities.

Cisco’s structure emphasizes divisional accountability around product lines and customer motion rather than a tightly centralized functional model.

The CEO maintains a broad span with eight direct reports, while finance is represented at the top by a Chief Accounting Officer rather than a traditional CFO role in this snapshot. This highlights Cisco’s emphasis on operational execution and product strategy following recent acquisitions and integration work, particularly Splunk.

  • No single COO role
  • Product and go-to-market separated
  • Finance led by CAO at top level

The comparison

How Cisco Systems, Inc. stacks up

Compared with peers like Juniper Networks and Arista Networks, Cisco runs a broader top team with clearer separation between product, operations, and go-to-market leadership. Unlike some peers that centralize under a COO or CFO, Cisco distributes authority across multiple presidents and EVPs. This divisional approach …

C-suite size

Cisco Systems, Inc.
8
Juniper Networks
7
Arista Networks
6
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
9
Dell Technologies
10

Reporting depth

Cisco Systems, Inc.
3 levels
Juniper Networks
4 levels
Arista Networks
4 levels
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
5 levels
Dell Technologies
5 levels

Avg C-suite tenure

Cisco Systems, Inc.
4 yr
Juniper Networks
4 yr
Arista Networks
6 yr
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
5 yr
Dell Technologies
7 yr

Has COO / Has CAIO

Cisco Systems, Inc. — no COO — no CAIO
Juniper Networks — no COO — no CAIO
Arista Networks — no COO — no CAIO
Hewlett Packard Enterprise ✓ COO — no CAIO
Dell Technologies ✓ COO — no CAIO

Current signals

What changed recently

Cisco appointed Nichlas Fink as Chief Accounting Officer following Victoria Wong’s retirement.

  • departed
    Daniel H. Schulman Director

    Resigned from the Board effective May 21, 2026.

    Source
  • new
    Nichlas A. Fink Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer

    Appointed effective May 20, 2026.

    Source
  • departed
    M. Victoria Wong Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer

    Retired effective May 19, 2026.

    Source

Leadership Timeline

Year-over-year executive structure based on SEC proxy and annual filings.

FY2025
DEF 14A filed 2025-10-28
CEO
Charles H. Robbins
CEO span
6
C-suite
6
Avg tenure
4.2 yr

Product and go-to-market leadership expanded following Splunk acquisition.

Named executive officers (5)
  • Charles H. Robbins - Chair and CEO since 2015
  • R. Scott Herren - EVP and CFO since 2020
  • Jeetu Patel - President and CPO since 2025
  • Dev Stahlkopf - EVP and CLO since 2019
  • Thimaya Subaiya - EVP, Operations since 2024
FY2024
DEF 14A filed 2024-10-27
CEO
Charles H. Robbins
CEO span
6
C-suite
6
Avg tenure
4.8 yr

Operations elevated to EVP level.

Named executive officers (4)
  • Charles H. Robbins - Chair and CEO since 2015
  • R. Scott Herren - EVP and CFO since 2020
  • Dev Stahlkopf - EVP and CLO since 2019
  • Thimaya Subaiya - EVP, Operations since 2024
FY2023
DEF 14A filed 2023-10-26
CEO
Charles H. Robbins
CEO span
5
C-suite
5
Avg tenure
5.3 yr

More centralized executive structure prior to Splunk integration.

Named executive officers (3)
  • Charles H. Robbins - Chair and CEO since 2015
  • R. Scott Herren - EVP and CFO since 2020
  • Dev Stahlkopf - EVP and CLO since 2019

Year-over-year changes

FY2023 → FY2024

Operations leadership was elevated, increasing CEO span.

  • CEO span: 5 → 6
  • C-suite size: 5 → 6
  • Avg tenure: 5.3 → 4.8 yr
  • promoted Thimaya Subaiya - EVP, Operations (was SVP, Operations) (DEF 14A 2024)
FY2024 → FY2025

Product leadership expanded with a new president role.

  • CEO span: 6 → 6
  • C-suite size: 6 → 6
  • Avg tenure: 4.8 → 4.2 yr
  • new Jeetu Patel - President and CPO (was Chief Product Officer) (DEF 14A 2025)

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the CEO of Cisco Systems?

Charles H. Robbins has served as Chair and Chief Executive Officer since 2015.

What type of organizational structure does Cisco Systems use?

Cisco uses a divisional structure organized around product lines and go-to-market functions.

How many direct reports does Cisco Systems's CEO have?

The CEO has seven direct executive reports.

How has Cisco Systems's leadership changed recently?

In 2026, Cisco appointed Nichlas Fink as Chief Accounting Officer following Victoria Wong’s retirement.

Who reports directly to Cisco Systems's CEO?

Direct reports include the President and Chief Product Officer, EVP of Operations, Chief Legal Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, and other functional leaders.

Sources

  • 8-K Filing, April 6, 2026
  • 8-K Filing, May 1, 2026
  • SEC EDGAR: Cisco Systems, Inc. DEF 14A Proxy Statement
  • SEC EDGAR: Cisco Systems, Inc. 10-K Annual Report

Reference

Cite this page

If you reference this page in research, analysis, or news writing, use one of the formats below. Citation includes the SEC filing source where applicable.

APA 7th
Creately. (2026). Cisco Systems, Inc. organizational structure. Creately. Retrieved , from https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/cisco/
MLA 9th
"Cisco Systems, Inc. Organizational Structure." Creately, April 1, 2026, https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/cisco/. Accessed .
Chicago 17
Creately. "Cisco Systems, Inc. Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/cisco/.
Original SEC source View on SEC ↗
Cisco Systems, Inc.. DEF 14A. Filed 2025-10-28. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/858877/000085887725000150/csco-20251027.htm

Permanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/cisco/ · last updated 2026-04-01

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