Technology Industry Pioneer David Yen to Lead Cisco Unified Computing and Nexus Server Access Switching Business

Experienced Sun Microsystems Engineering Leader and Former Juniper Networks Executive to Become General Manager of Cisco Server Access and Virtualization Technology Group

SAN JOSE, Calif. – May 9, 2011 – Cisco today announced the appointment of David Yen as the leader of the Server Access and Virtualization Technology Group (SAVTG), the home of Cisco’s phenomenally successful Unified Computing System and Nexus server access data center switching portfolio.

As general manager and senior vice president for SAVTG, David Yen will assume responsibility for continuing the success of this fast-growth business. Yen will report to the co-leaders of Cisco’s engineering organization, Senior Vice Presidents Padmasree Warrior and Pankaj Patel.

Cisco’s Unified Computing System and the Nexus family of data center switches are two of Cisco’s fastest growing product families. Sales of the Nexus 5000 grew 56% year over year in the second quarter of Cisco’s fiscal year 2011. Nexus 2000 revenues grew 150%.

In the same period, Cisco reached almost 4,000 customers for its Unified Computing System, just eighteen months since the first generation of the platform shipped. As of Cisco’s fiscal year second quarter 2011, Cisco’s Unified Computing System had an annualized revenue run rate of $650M.

David Yen was most recently executive vice president and general manager of Juniper Network’s Fabric and Switching Business Group, where he led Juniper’s multiyear data center network research and development initiative, known as Qfabric.

David previously spent 20 years at Sun Microsystems, where he led development of Sun’s first-and-second-generation multi-CPU servers, which helped transform Sun from a workstation company to a leading enterprise server company. After taking over Sun’s microelectronics group in 2001, he turned around Sun’s SPARC business and developed it into a multi-billion dollar business.

David takes over leadership of Cisco’s Server Access Virtualization Group (SAVG) from Mario Mazzola, Prem Jain and Luca Cafiero, three of the founders of Nuova Systems, whose acquisition by Cisco in 2008 led to the creation of SAVTG.

After 18 years of association with Cisco, during which time they have developed a strong legacy of innovation and market disruption, Mario, Luca and Prem have decided to transition out of their current roles to supporting Cisco in an advisory capacity. They will continue as senior technical advisors to Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers and support a smooth transition as David Yen moves into his new role.

Executive Quotes

• “We couldn’t be happier to secure such a talented engineering leader as David Yen to continue the success of our remarkable UCS and Nexus businesses,” said Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers. “David is inheriting a product portfolio that is firing on all cylinders. Mario, Luca and Prem’s tremendous leadership and innovation has helped Cisco truly revolutionize the world’s data centers, and we thank them for that, and for the continuing role they will play as advisors to Cisco.”
• “When Cisco pioneered Unified Computing in 2008, our critics said we would not last a year in this market. Now, we have one of the hottest technologies in the business world and in combination with the Nexus switching family, Cisco has the most innovative data center portfolio in the IT industry,” said Senior Vice President, Server Access and Virtualization Technology Group, Mario Mazzola. “This is a good time for us to hand the baton to the next generation of SAVTG leadership. Prem, Luca and I are very supportive of Padma and Pankaj’s efforts to bring David Yen to Cisco.”

About Cisco

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