Cisco high-flyer resigns

A senior Cisco official who was believed to have been tipped for the role of chief executive has resigned to head up an unnamed company.

Don Listwin, former executive vice president of corporate marketing, service provider and consumer line of business units, will become the chief executive of a company in which Cisco owns a minority stake. Listwin was widely tipped to one day take over from Cisco chief executive John Chambers.

The announcement was made as the networking giant reported that it has surpassed Wall Street's predictions for its fourth quarter results, fuelled by sales of equipment to build the internet. For the three months to 29 July, revenue rose by 61 per cent to $5.72bn, compared with $3.56bn in the same period last year.

Net income including a one-time charge of $461m reached $796m, compared with $605m in 1999. Earnings per share increased from eight cents to 11 cents. Excluding charges, pro forma net income reached $1.20bn or 16 cents a share, compared with last year's $710m or 10 cents a share. The figure beat Wall Street analysts' consensus of 15 cents a share.