Cisco Taps Autodesk Executive as CFO

At Cisco, Mr. Herren will succeed Kelly Kramer, who became the company’s finance chief in January 2015. Cisco in August announced Ms. Kramer’s intention to retire and stated she would stay on until the company found a successor.

“With a background in software, Scott will be instrumental in helping us accelerate our shift toward a software-based business model,” Cisco Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins said.

The company Thursday also said its revenue fell for the fourth consecutive quarter, totaling $11.93 billion for the period ended Oct. 24, down 9% from a year earlier, as enterprise and  commercial orders slipped during the pandemic. Cisco plans to achieve more than $1 billion in cost savings on an annualized basis, including an unspecified number of job cuts to achieve this target.

San Rafael, Calif.-based Autodesk said it has begun its search for Mr. Herren’s successor. He will leave Autodesk in mid-December, the company said.

During his time at Autodesk, Mr. Herren helped lead the company’s shift from sales of perpetual licenses to recurring subscriptions and software as a service. Mr. Herren said in August the model provided a steadier source of revenue and enabled the company to provide new innovations to customers on a frequent basis instead of once a year. “It’s easier for [customers] to absorb,” he said.

Mr. Herren also oversaw Autodesk’s investments in cloud-based software capabilities, which helped customers switch to remote work during the pandemic, he said.

Before Autodesk, Mr. Herren spent 14 years at Citrix Systems Inc., another software company.

Cisco declined to comment beyond its statement.

—Maria Armental contributed to this article.

Write to Mark Maurer at [email protected] and Kristin Broughton at [email protected]