Cisco Appoints Splunk’s Gary Steele to Lead Go to Markets, Partnerships

Steele will replace channel veteran Jeff Sharritts, lead the integration of Splunk’s partners into the Cisco program, and help transform Cisco’s positioning as a software and service vendor.

Cisco initiated a change of the guard in its global partner leadership, announcing the appointment of former Splunk CEO Gary Steele to replace longtime channel chief Jeff Sharritts. The company continues its transition from a legacy networking hardware vendor to a multifaceted software and service company.

Steele, who joined Cisco following the closing of the $28 billion acquisition of Splunk, will now serve as the president of go-to-markets and partnerships. Sharritts, a 20-year Cisco veteran, is set to depart the company in July.