That was fast. Networking veteran Jonathan Davidson is re-joining Cisco a little less than a week after resigning as rival Juniper executive VP and general manager.
Cisco/Jonathan DavidsonDavidson is joining Cisco’s Service Provider Business Unit and will report to Yvette Kanouff, the senior vice president and general manager that unit.
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“Having served as executive vice president and general manager of Juniper Development and Innovation, and earlier SVP/GM for Juniper’s Security, Switching and Solutions, Jonathan drove strategy, development and business growth for Juniper’s entire portfolio – including networking solutions, routing, switching, data center, cloud, and security,” Kanouff wrote in a blog announcing Davidson’s hiring. “We couldn’t be more excited that Jonathan joins our journey as we usher in the next generation of networking and network automation innovation. He brings extensive experience in strategy and network engineering leadership as well as strong customer relationships that will serve us well.”
In Davidson’s previous Cisco incarnation, he was in charge products such as the Cisco 7200 and Enterprise ASR 1000 product management team. He had joined Juniper in 2010 to lead the company’s Security, Switching and Solutions Business Unit. He ultimately became executive vice president and general manager of the Juniper Development and Innovation group, where he replaced Rami Rahim who is now the company’s CEO.
Davidson is the second key industry veteran who has returned to Cisco in recent months. In November Roland Acra rejoined the company as a senior vice-president/general manager for its data center business. The move was Acra’s third stint with the company since 1991.
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“As a long-standing industry expert in Internet routing, software engineering and communication protocol development, Roland fits right in – once again. He is a Cisco veteran having held several general management and executive leadership positions from 1991 – 2003. In 2010, he came back to Cisco as Vice President in our Smart Grid Business Unit, following the acquisition of Arch Rock, a developer of IPv6-based wireless sensor networks where he served as President and CEO. Prior to Arch Rock, he was the President and CEO of Procket Networks,” wrote David Goeckeler senior VP/GM for Cisco’s networking and security business in a blog about Acra’s return.
Acra's earlier career was in software development in networking and operating systems, including at 3Com and Interphase.
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