“You know, it’s really time for a change”, my wife said last year as she stared in disbelief at my new Cisco Lycra cycling gear.  I was relieved when I realized she wasn’t planning to trade me in for a newer model, but instead was suggesting that after 11 years of obsession with all things Cisco, the time had finally come to move on. Not for the first time, she was a step ahead of me.

                                     pic:  The Final Straw

Today, we told the Cisco team that I will be leaving early in 2014 to start a software company.  It’s been a fantastic 11 years for me at Cisco and I have just had a great time working with smart people and learning every day. Cisco built the internet, and with voice over IP we made it better and more useful for people all over the world. It was great to be a part of that from the scary early days of IP telephony, taking on the legacy incumbents and going from zero to number 1 in the unified communications market in a short few years. It’s been an exhilarating ride with exceptional teams - and now I want to do it again!

I learned a huge amount from some amazing people at Cisco and will always be grateful. From Charlie Giancarlo and John Chambers who persuaded me to come to Cisco in 2002, to Rob Lloyd and Gary Moore who persuaded me to stay when I was thinking of leaving a few years ago (over beer and whisky respectively!) . From my inspirational first boss Don Proctor, to Tony Bates who pushed us towards a big vision, and my current boss Padmasree Warrior who encouraged me to mentor and give back.  Great sales leaders like Pat Finn, Woody Sessoms and Duncan Mitchell stood shoulder to shoulder with us product guys as we battled with competitors in markets which they dominated until we showed up. I take all the gifts they have given me to the next adventure.

    pic: With Cisco CTSO Padmasree Warrior in Galway today

Which brings me to what’s next. I have led some large divisions for Cisco, I have been involved in the acquisition of some great tech companies like WebEx and have been an active angel investor in startups in California and Ireland. But now I am about to embark on the most exciting, challenging and scary adventure of my life - I want to build a software company that will change enterprise IT fundamentally.  What I learned at Cisco will be a great foundation, but I am also buoyed by the insanely smart co-founders and great investors that want to come along for the ride. We are getting ready to strap in, and can’t wait to get started.

But that’s all in the future. For now I have work to transition at Cisco, friends to say goodbye to and some new Lycra to purchase. I promise I will post a picture when the new logo is public!