Cisco SVP, Former Channel Chief Mountford Departs

Mountford departed Cisco and returned to the United Kingdom to spend more time with his family, according to a Cisco spokesperson reached by CRN Monday.

"Paul has been with Cisco for more than 16 years and has held a variety of roles including leading Cisco's emerging market strategy and overseeing our worldwide channels organization," said the spokesperson in a statement provided to CRN. "We sincerely thank Paul for his contributions and wish him the best in his future endeavors."

[Related: 30 Major Channel Chief Moves In 2012 ]

Cisco said that Nick Adamo, senior vice president, service provider, will be absorbing Mountford's duties and filling the position for both Cisco's service provider and enterprise segments.

Mountford moved into his most recent role in June 2011 as part of Cisco's global restructuring and the folding of the emerging markets theater, which Mountford had run, into then-newly created Cisco geographies. But, he's still best known to solution providers for the three years, from 2002 to 2005, he spent running Cisco's global channels. Keith Goodwin, who is retiring from Cisco's top channel job this month, succeeded Mountford in 2005.

Most recently, Mountford had a group of about 875 people and managed the various Cisco technology architecture sales leaders for Borderless Networks, Collaboration and Data Center, as well as engineering and design teams. He was also spearheading Smart Solutions, an emerging effort by Cisco to identify, enable and reward partners who design and sell multivendor solutions focused on Cisco architecture.

Mountford is the latest in an increasingly long list of VP- and higher-level departures or reassignments among Cisco executives. In other recent moves close to the channel, Amanda Jobbins, vice president of global partner marketing, resigned her position. Jobbins, like Mountford, cited family matters and sought a return to the U.K.

PUBLISHED AUG. 27, 2012