SAN JOSE, CA and BEIJING and TOKYO--(Marketwire - January 11, 2010) - Cisco (
Effective February 2010, the company will create three theaters that will enable a more focused strategy and investment of resources to countries within the region.
China P.R.C., Hong Kong and Taiwan, formerly part of the Asia Pacific Theater, will now form a separate Greater China Theater. The remaining countries in Asia Pacific will form the Asia Pacific Theater and Cisco's Japanese operations will continue as the Japan Theater.
The new Greater China Theater will be led by Owen Chan, President and CEO, Greater China Theater, reporting to Robert Lloyd, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Operations. Chan joined Cisco in 1999 and has been President of Cisco's Asia Pacific region for the past five years. Under his leadership, the Asia Pacific region has been one of Cisco's most consistent and fastest growing regions. For his new role, he will be relocating from Hong Kong to Beijing, China.
Jim Sherriff will continue in his role of developing and leading Cisco's cross-functional execution of the company's overall China strategy including government affairs, supply chain, product development, corporate affairs, corporate development and strategic alliances. As Chairman, Greater China Theater, Sherriff will continue reporting to Executive Vice President of Operations, Processes, and Systems Randy Pond and will continue to be based in Shanghai, China. Thomas Lam will report to Sherriff as Vice Chairman and be responsible for developing cross-functional strategies for Cisco's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), corporate affairs and university relations in Greater China.
In addition to his current responsibilities leading Cisco Japan, Edzard Overbeek will assume leadership of the Asia Pacific Theater. As President, Asia Pacific and Japan Theaters, he will continue reporting to Robert Lloyd. Since taking on leadership of Cisco's Japan Theater three years ago, Overbeek has driven growth in an extremely challenging economic environment, built strong relationships with customers and partners, and developed a world-class leadership team.
"Given the size and growth of the Chinese economy and our significant commitments to our China business, we believe designating Greater China as its own theater marks an important next step in our strategy," said Lloyd. "Together, the Japan, Greater China and Asia Pacific Theaters comprise approximately 15% of Cisco's worldwide revenue and, as home to some of the world's most dynamic economies, represent sizeable long term growth opportunities for Cisco. Under Edzard, Owen, and Jim's leadership, Cisco will be able to maximize these opportunities by providing increased focus on our customer and partner relationships in the region."
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