Cisco's Chambers ready for three more years

IDG News Service - Cisco Systems Chairman and CEO John Chambers plans to stay on the job for at least three more years, he said Tuesday.

Cisco's board asked him a week ago whether he was willing to commit to three more years as CEO and he told them he was, Chambers told financial analysts at an annual conference at Cisco headquarters.

Answering a question about whether the board and management were aligned on goals, Chambers emphatically said they were and recounted last week's exchange.

There had been reports on Tuesday that Chambers would use the conference as an occasion to step down. Disappointing results in recent quarters have sent Cisco's stock lower and triggered a major restructuring and series of cuts, including job cuts. A reorganization of Cisco's management reversed an initiative that Chambers himself led several years ago to run the company through a set of boards and councils.

Several high-ranked executives who were considered possible heirs to Chambers' post have left the company in the past few years as Chambers has committed to an extended term that has lasted since the 1990s.

Cisco's shares on the Nasdaq (CSCO) rose $0.26 per share to $16.35 by market close on Tuesday but were down $0.02 at $16.33 in after-hours trading.

Stephen Lawson covers mobile, storage and networking technologies for The IDG News Service. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @sdlawsonmedia. Stephen's e-mail address is stephen_lawson@idg.com