Cisco India and SAARC President Dinesh Malkani has resigned to join a startup, wire agency PTI reported.
The development comes at a time when Cisco is betting big on the Digital India wave in the country. The enterprise networking company is engaged in 50 digitisation projects and is working with six states on various digitisation initiatives.
“Dinesh Malkani has played a key role in driving our growth, talent and digital transformation initiatives in India. This is a perfect time for a new leader to build on that foundation,” Cisco Asia-Pacific and Japan President Irving Tan said.
Cisco continues to execute on its strategic focus on India through its investments in innovation, skills development and digital transformation.
Dinesh Malkani joined Cisco in 2010 to lead the collaboration technologies team in Asia Pacific, Japan and China.
India is a key market for Cisco. Cisco India is witnessing a double-digit growth and accounts for a significant portion of the company’s global headcount, with a majority of them in R&D roles.
Cisco has recently commenced manufacturing operations in Pune and plans to scale it up to make the country an export hub.
Besides, Cisco has committed investments of over $100 million in 2016. Of this, $40 million was allocated for funding early-stage and growth-stage companies in areas like Internet of Things (IoT), security and smart cities.
