Cisco exec promoted to CTO

After a four-year vacancy, networking giant Cisco Systems finally filled its chief technology officer position with one of its own.

On Tuesday, Cisco announced that Charles H. Giancarlo, formerly a general manager and senior vice president at Cisco, has been promoted to the CTO position. The job has been vacant for four years since Judy Estrin left the post in April 2000.

As CTO, Giancarlo will help shape Cisco's technology strategy, the company said. He will also assume responsibility for the Global Government Solutions Group. In addition to his CTO title, he will also remain the president of Linksys, Cisco's home networking division. And he will continue to oversee the company's voice business.

Giancarlo, who previously reported to Mario Mazzola, the chief development officer, will now report directly to John Chambers, Cisco's president and chief executive officer. Giancarlo and Mazzola will continue to work closely on strategy, said the company.

Giancarlo, 46, has been with Cisco since December 1994 when his company, Kalpana, was acquired by Cisco.

In 2001, Estrin helped found a start-up called Packet Design. Before Estrin, Ed Kozel served as CTO from 1990 to 1998.

In addition to Giancarlo's promotion, the company also announced a series of changes in the technology organization under Mazzola. No one else's title has changed, but several executives reporting to Mazzola will carry new responsibilities.

"We continue to strengthen the technology team, and promote our next generation of leaders under Mario's direction," Chambers said in a statement. "We are especially proud of our deep bench strength within the technology organization, and the team's commitment to customer success and innovation."