Cisco promotes Charles Giancarlo to CTO

Cisco Systems announced changes to its technology leadership team Tuesday, including the appointment of Charles Giancarlo to the position of chief technology officer, a position that had been vacant since 2000.

In the post, Giancarlo will focus on Cisco's technology strategy, assuming responsibility for the global government solutions group. He will also retain his prior duties leading Cisco's voice and home networking businesses and serving as president of Cisco-Linksys.

Giancarlo joined Cisco in 1994 and recently served as a senior vice president who was a co-leader of the company's switching and voice, storage, networking and network security divisions.

Giancarlo will report to CEO John Chambers and is expected to work closely with Mario Mazzola, senior vice president and chief development officer.

In a statement, Cisco said the change will help address customer needs and capture new market opportunities. The changes also include the appointment of Jayshree Ullal, a senior vice president, to lead a newly formed Security Technology Group under Mazzola.