Cisco appoints former Microsoft veteran to lead global partner sales

Cisco has announced the appointment of former Microsoft executive Rodney Clark as its new senior vice president of partnerships and small and medium business (SMBs).

A seasoned global sales leader, Clark has previously spent more than 24 years at the Redmond giant across various senior positions, including as corporate vice president of global channel sales, as well as channel chief.

In his new role, Clark will leverage his wealth of sales experience to lead Cisco’s global network of partners, which is responsible for generating 90% of its annual bookings. 

Cisco announced the appointment at its Partner Summit 2023 taking place this week, an annual event that focuses on collective market opportunities and company developments.

In an accompanying blog post, the company’s EVP and chief customer and partner officer Jeff Sharritts described Clark as the “perfect leader” to spearhead the next phase of growth for its partner ecosystem.

“Our ecosystem of partners is not only our single biggest advantage in the market, but it’s also fundamental to our transformation strategy,” he said. 

“I am incredibly proud of the work we’ve done with our ecosystem of partners over the last 25 years, and the business value that we’ve helped create for our mutual customers.

“Rodney is the right leader at the right time as we build on that legacy and push our partnerships into a new era.”

Prior to his time at Microsoft, Clark also spent nine years at IBM in various sales, marketing, and management roles. Most recently, he served as chief commercial officer at Johnson Controls after joining from Microsoft back in May 2022.

At Cisco, Clark’s responsibilities will include strengthening routes to market across the likes of managed services and cloud marketplaces, as well as working to maximise opportunities in the SMB segment, the firm said.

“Rodney has a great deal of knowledge and respect for everything that Cisco and its ecosystem of partners have accomplished together in 25+ years but he has a bold vision for our future,” Sharritts added. 

“To succeed in this role, you have to understand our legacy, but you can’t be beholden to it. Rodney will bring that perspective.”