John Chambers, Chairman and CEO of the $48-billion networking major Cisco Systems, is scheduled to visit Mumbai on June 26 and 27.
Ironically, this visit comes after the company’s India head Jeff White, reportedly handpicked for the job by Chambers himself, resigned last month and went back to the US citing personal reasons.
Chambers will address all 11,800 Cisco’s India employees via Web conferencing from 3.30 to 4.30 pm on June 26. While he will meet some of the company’s key customers and Government officials, he will not interact with the media.
Cisco’s Executive Vice-President for Industry Solutions and Chief Globalisation Officer Wim Elfrink, who Chambers sent to Bangalore in December 2006 to set up the company’s Globalisation Centre East, the only one-of-its-kind outside its headquarters in San Jose, will accompany Chambers on this trip.
One of Elfrink’s responsibilities during his current position is the ‘Emerging Countries Initiatives,’ where India is a significant market — a market that Chambers is focused on to bring the company back to the growth path. Cisco has always bet on India as a high growth market and in October 2005, Chambers announced an investment of $1.1 billion in Indian operations, which has far exceeded that amount to date, say insiders.
While the third quarter of fiscal 2014 (ended April) saw the company’s revenue from the US increase 7 per cent, revenue from emerging markets, including India, declined.
Cisco’s India business has been slow over the last few years as a result of frequent leadership changes, leading to the absence of a focused strategy. The company has fallen short of the $1-billion target in services revenue it had set out to achieve in India during the 2011-14 period. At present, the India business contributes to less than 2 per cent of Cisco’s overall revenue. However, at a global event in Las Vegas in March, Chambers said he expects the company’s India business to contribute to 5 per cent of Cisco’s revenue over the next five years.
Drawing up new strategies“Chamber’s visit this month is timely, as it is the last quarter of the company’s financial year with employees under high pressure to deliver on target. It is also the time to draw up fresh strategies for Cisco’s fiscal 2015 which begins on August 1.
“He is a charismatic leader who can pep up employees, enthuse customers and carry every stakeholder along with his vision for a better world with technology solutions,” said a former Cisco head of business.