Biography of Dennis Powell

Powell, previously senior vice president of corporate finance, succeeds Larry Carter who will retire after serving over eight years as Cisco chief financial officer.

Carter will remain on Cisco's board of directors and continue as a senior vice president advising the company on special topics.

Powell will report to Cisco President and Chief Executive Officer John Chambers.

"Larry Carter and I have known that Dennis has been ready to run the finance organization for some time," said John Chambers, president and CEO, Cisco Systems. "He has contributed enormously to our strong financial and operational execution over the past six years and has helped build an exceptional team. I have no doubt that the company is in good hands under his formal leadership and am confident that as CFO his deep understanding of the business and the finance organization will continue to build on our tradition of integrity, financial performance and conservatism."

"I look forward to building upon the solid foundation that already exists within the Cisco finance organization," said Powell. "I plan to continue to maximize long-term shareholder value by focusing on four primary areas including creating sustained profitability, driving disciplined financial decision making, taking best advantage of the company's financial health, and maintaining Cisco's culture of financial transparency and integrity."

As Cisco CFO, Powell will oversee a staff of 1,400 people worldwide while managing the financial strategy and operations of a global company with more than 34,000 employees operating in 58 countries, and $18 billion in annual revenues.

In his previous role, Powell was responsible for financial planning and analysis, oversight of business unit and operational controllers, and financial analysis of mergers and acquisitions.

Powell was instrumental in the implementation of several Cisco Internet productivity initiatives in finance including the one-day close and 'Virtual Close' processes and systems, which allow Cisco to close its worldwide financials in less than one day and have real-time access to critical financial metrics.

Powell, 55, joined Cisco in 1997 as vice president and corporate controller and oversaw global financial reporting, tax strategies, corporate procurement and internal audit functions.

He was promoted to senior vice president, corporate finance in June 2002.

Prior to joining Cisco, Powell spent 26 years at Coopers & Lybrand LLP, where he began his career in accounting and was promoted to Senior Partner. Powell serves on the FDIC Advisory Committee and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Financial Executives International.

Powell holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration in accounting from Oregon State University.