Cisco appoints R. Dhamodaran to Head India Channel Operations

Cisco® today announced the appointment of R. Dhamodaran as Sr. Vice President, Channel Operations and Commercial Strategy, for India & SAARC. In this role, Dhamodaran's primary focus would be on strengthening Cisco's relationships with its partner community as well as drive the effort towards entrenching Cisco's presence in the commercial market, which is amongst the fastest growing segments for Cisco in the region. Dhamodaran, in his current capacity will report directly to Naresh Wadhwa, President and Country Manager, Cisco "� India & SAARC.

Commenting on Dhamodaran's appointment, Naresh said, "With almost all our business being done through the channel, our partner community is integral to achieving the goals that we have set for ourselves across the India & SAARC region. We are pleased to have someone with Dhamodaran's extensive experience to lead this effort in strengthening our ties with this community".

Naresh further added, "With our Commercial business segment being tightly integrated with our channel program, we believe that Dhamodaran is well - positioned to drive our business and build Cisco's profile in this market".

Dhamodaran has over 20 years of experience in the IT industry. He joins Cisco from IBM India where he was Director, Software Alliances & Investment Territory Sales in IBM Asia Pacific. In IBM, as head of IBM Software Group, he has strengthened channels in India which include Global/Regional SI and ISV channel for IBM Software business. His tenure with IBM lasted for 12 years and has contributed significantly to its success in India through various roles and responsibilities.

Prior to his stint at IBM, Mr. Dhamodaran was with Fujitsu ICIM for 5 years and served in organizations such as IDM Limited, MMTC Ltd., and ISRO. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering (Mechanical) from the University of Madras, (GCT, Coimbatore) and PGDM from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.

About Cisco Systems

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in India is supplied by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.

Cisco, the Cisco logo, and Cisco Systems are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partnership does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.