Cisco Names 17-Year-Veteran To Top Americas Sales Job

Cisco Systems has named a 17-year company veteran with channel and sales leadership bona fides to its top Americas sales post, the company said.

Jeff Sharritts was officially named to the senior vice president, Americas post, a position last held by Alison Gleeson, who announced her departure in May. Sharritts has been Cisco senior vice president of U.S. sales for the last four years. His appointment to the top Americas sales job was made by global sales leader Gerri Elliott.

Sharritts has held a variety of sales positions at Cisco, including manager of channel operations from 2003 to 2006, as well as regional sales leadership positions in the West and South. He was made senior vice president of U.S. sales in 2014.

[Related: Cisco's Changing Of The Guard: 8 Executive Moves That Illustrate CEO Robbins' Software-Centric Push]

"He spent many years in channels, and he gets partners, and that's good compared to bringing in someone from outside," said Faisal Bhutto, executive vice president, enterprise networking, cloud and cybersecurity at Computex, a Houston solution provider that works with Cisco. "His commercial team ran well in the South, so we look forward to him leading the national charge."

"He gets the Cisco culture and has been there for years," Bhutto said. "He can help [Chairman and CEO] Chuck [Robbins] with the transition that Cisco is going through. Alison did a great job, and this ensures continuity."

Gleeson, a 22-year Cisco veteran held in high regard by solution providers, announced last month that she would leave the top Americas sales job, but would stay on through July to help with the transition. There was speculation that Gleeson was a candidate for the top global sales job when Chris Dedicoat left that position last December.

The company in late March hired former Juniper Networks executive vice president Elliott to fill the Dedicoat vacancy.

In a statement to CRN, Cisco said, "For nearly 23 years, Alison has been instrumental in driving Cisco's growth and pushing the company forward. By constantly listening to our customers and advocating for our partners, Alison has built an incredible legacy. She'll truly be missed, and we wish her the best in the next chapter of her journey."