Cisco has announced the appointment of former Microsoft executive Rodney Clark as its new senior vice president of partnerships and small and medium business (SMBs). A seasoned global sales leader, Clark has previously spent more than 24 years at the Redmond giant across various senior positions, including as corporate vice president of global channel sales, as well as channel chief. In his new role, Clark will leverage his wealth of sales experience to lead Ciscos global network of partners, which is responsible for generating 90% of its annual bookings.

Cisco announced the appointment at its Partner Summit 2023 taking place this week, an annual event that focuses on collective market opportunities and company developments. In an accompanying blog post, the company's EVP and chief customer and partner officer Jeff Sharritts described Clark as the perfect leader to spearhead the next phase of growth for its partner ecosystem.