為什么思科董事會(huì)選了他作為新CEO?
????2000年4月,《財(cái)富》雜志封面曾以《他是全世界最好的CEO嗎?》為題,對(duì)思科CEO約翰?錢(qián)伯斯進(jìn)行過(guò)報(bào)道。當(dāng)時(shí)這家網(wǎng)絡(luò)巨頭的市值迅猛增長(zhǎng),一度突破5500億美元,甚至超過(guò)了微軟。那會(huì)兒也是互聯(lián)網(wǎng)泡沫的巔峰。 ????如果把思科比做一只“熱氣球”,那一刻它已升至九霄云外。 ????但錢(qián)伯斯很快發(fā)現(xiàn),這只氣球要向地面墜毀,他得在自由落體中小心駕駛。在觸及歷史高點(diǎn)后,思科的股價(jià)一直在15-30美元區(qū)間波動(dòng),再也沒(méi)有回到80美元的峰值。 ????周一,這家公司宣布錢(qián)伯斯將卸任,暫定于7月底出任執(zhí)行董事長(zhǎng)??萍冀鐚?duì)此早有預(yù)料,但許多人都好奇,他選定的接班人——查克?羅賓斯是何方神圣?思科董事會(huì)為什么會(huì)選中他來(lái)掌舵?為什么沒(méi)選其他人,比如之前人們認(rèn)為在CEO爭(zhēng)奪戰(zhàn)中處于領(lǐng)先位置的銷(xiāo)售和研發(fā)業(yè)務(wù)總裁羅伯特?勞埃德?此外,羅賓斯有能耐重振這家多年來(lái)奮力掙扎的公司,帶領(lǐng)它重拾往日榮光嗎? ????思科新CEO其人 ????消息公布后,在閉門(mén)新聞發(fā)布會(huì)上準(zhǔn)備回答各路問(wèn)題時(shí),錢(qián)伯斯的聲音聽(tīng)起來(lái)輕快愉悅?!傲_賓斯就是一臺(tái)執(zhí)行機(jī)器?!彼Q贊了繼任者的工作效率,語(yǔ)調(diào)還是一貫的柔和緩慢。“他目光長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn),胸懷大略,而且能落實(shí)到實(shí)際結(jié)果中?!彪S后,他撇下電話中的記者,直接對(duì)羅賓斯說(shuō):“我最欣賞你的一點(diǎn)是你學(xué)的很快,你知道自己懂什么,也知道自己不了解什么?!闭f(shuō)完這句,錢(qián)伯斯把麥克風(fēng)遞給了羅賓斯,象征性地完成了一次“火炬?zhèn)鬟f”。 ????羅賓斯是互聯(lián)網(wǎng)行業(yè)資深人士,有17年的工作經(jīng)驗(yàn)。他此前擔(dān)任思科高級(jí)副總裁,負(fù)責(zé)全球運(yùn)營(yíng)。1997年,羅賓斯以會(huì)計(jì)經(jīng)理身份加入思科。他經(jīng)歷了思科業(yè)務(wù)的急劇滑坡,在此過(guò)程中不斷承擔(dān)更重要的職務(wù)和責(zé)任。 ????羅賓斯說(shuō):“今天發(fā)布的消息讓我受寵若驚,也倍感榮幸?!苯又?,他回顧了思科的光輝過(guò)去,并大致介紹了今后的前進(jìn)方向。他說(shuō):“回想20世紀(jì)90年代末,思科曾多么強(qiáng)大?!辈贿^(guò),他接下來(lái)表示:“我們將要迎接的下一波浪潮將是物聯(lián)網(wǎng)帶來(lái)的數(shù)字化?!蔽锫?lián)網(wǎng)的英文縮寫(xiě)為IoT,意思是將以前不聯(lián)網(wǎng)的家電與設(shè)備連入互聯(lián)網(wǎng)?!斑@一波的規(guī)模將是以往任何一次的兩到三倍?!?/p> ????從羅賓斯的描述中,與會(huì)者隱約窺見(jiàn)了思科的未來(lái)。隨后他談到“連接與融合”,比如說(shuō),應(yīng)用程序和科技基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的結(jié)合讓網(wǎng)絡(luò)系統(tǒng)更靈活,更便于管理(如果思科不能迅速適應(yīng),這種趨勢(shì)就有可能威脅其核心業(yè)務(wù))。羅賓斯還提到,將利用思科的聯(lián)網(wǎng)傳感器和設(shè)備積累的信息,創(chuàng)建具有分析功能的智能應(yīng)用層,在信息搜集和處理方面都具有“優(yōu)勢(shì)”。 |
????In April 2000, Fortune magazine featured Cisco CEO John Chambers on our cover and asked, “Is he the best CEO in the world?” The networking giant’s market capitalization had exploded at the turn of the millennium, soaring to more than $550 billion—topping even Microsoft’s. It was the apogee of the dot-com bubble. ????If Cisco CSCO -0.96% had been a hot air balloon, this was the moment it had ascended into the stratosphere. ????But Chambers soon found himself forced to pilot the free-falling airship as it crashed back down to Earth. Since it reached those lofty heights, the company’s share price has consistently wavered between about $15 and $30, never again regaining the $80 peak it reached. ????On Monday, the company announced that Chambers will be captain no longer, assuming the title of executive chairman at the end of July. The move, long anticipated by those in the technology industry, leaves many to wonder about his elected successor: Who exactly is Chuck Robbins? Why did the company’s board of directors select him to take the helm—rather than, say, president of sales and development Robert Lloyd, who some considered a frontrunner in the contest? And does Robbins have it in him to revive a company that has struggled for years to reclaim its pre-bust glory? ????Meet Cisco’s new CEO ????As he prepares for a round of questioning after the announcement of the news, Chambers sounds buoyant and breezy on a private Monday afternoon call with reporters. “Chuck is just an execution machine,” he says in his easy drawl, praising Robbins’ productivity. “He take vision and strategy and turns them into results.” Forgetting his audience for a moment, Chambers addresses Robbins directly before passing him the proverbial mic—and torch. “What I like most of all is you’re a fast learner,” he says. “You know what you know, and you know what you don’t know.” ????Robbins, a 17-year veteran of the networking business, most recently served as Cisco’s senior vice president of worldwide field operations. Joining the company as an account manager in 1997, he survived the business’s downward hurtle and assumed increasingly important roles and responsibilities within the organization. ????“I’m obviously very humbled and very honored with the announcement made today,” Robbins says, going on to invoke Cisco’s halcyon days and painting, in broad strokes, where he intends to steer the company. “Think about what we did in the late ’90s,” he says. “The next wave we’re facing is digitization through IoT,” he says, abbreviating “the Internet of Things,” the technology trend of connecting historically non-networked appliances and devices to the Internet. “It’s going to be two-to-three times bigger than anything in the past.” ????Glimpses of Robbins’ vision are perceptible on the call. He proceeds to talk about “connectivity and convergence,” for example, the merging of applications and technologic infrastructure, allowing for a more flexible and easily manageable system of networking. (One that threatens to gobble Cisco’s core business if it cannot adapt quickly enough.) He mentions how he would like to leverage the information garnered from all the company’s network-connected sensors and devices, and to create application layers offering analytics and intelligence, that are sourced and processed “at edge.” |
-
熱讀文章
-
熱門(mén)視頻