Chuck Robbins
About Chuck Robbins
Chuck Robbins, age 59, has served as Cisco’s CEO since July 2015, a director since May 2015, and Board Chair since December 2017 . Under his leadership, Cisco delivered FY2025 revenue of $56.7B (+5% YoY), non-GAAP operating income of $19.5B (+6%), and 1- and 3-year TSR of 47% and 66% respectively, supported by subscription revenue rising to 56% and integration of Splunk . Cisco’s pay-for-performance structure for the CEO relies heavily on multi-year PRSUs tied to operating income and relative TSR, and annual cash tied to revenue and profit before taxes .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco | CEO | 2015–present | Led portfolio refresh (Silicon One), AI-native security, subscription model shift; Splunk integration . |
| Cisco | Board Chair | 2017–present | Unified leadership; balanced with strong Lead Independent Director structure . |
| Cisco | SVP, Worldwide Field Operations | 2012–2015 | Drove global sales/partner execution . |
| Cisco | SVP, Americas | 2011–2012 | Led Americas go-to-market . |
| Cisco | SVP, U.S. Enterprise, Commercial & Canada | 2009–2011 | Led major U.S. segments . |
| Cisco | SVP, U.S. Commercial | 2007–2009 | Scaled commercial growth . |
| Cisco | VP, U.S. Channel Sales; Canada Channel | 2002–2007 | Expanded partner/channel reach . |
| Cisco | Sales leadership roles | 1997–2002 | Built early sales management foundation . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BlackRock, Inc. | Director | Current | Current public company directorship . |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | 1,390,000 | 1,390,000 | 1,390,000 |
| Target Bonus (% of salary) | 260% | 260% | 260% |
| Actual Annual Cash Incentive ($) | 6,266,676 | 2,356,328 | 5,117,424 |
| All Other Compensation ($) | 78,053 | 82,434 | 460,637 (incl. security, vacation payout, matching) |
| Total Compensation ($) | 31,843,708 | 39,202,654 | 52,838,751 |
Performance Compensation
Annual Executive Incentive Plan (EIP) – FY2025
| Metric | Weight | Threshold | Target | Maximum | Actual | Funding Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($B) | 30% | 50.6 (90%) | 56.2 | 59.0 (105%) | 56.7 (101%) | 0.35 |
| Profit Before Taxes ($B, non-GAAP) | 70% | 15.0 (85%) | 17.7 | 19.4 (110%) | 18.6 (106%) | 1.09 |
| Company Performance Factor (CPF) | 90% | — | 1.00 | 2.00 | 1.44 | — |
| Purpose Factor | 10% | — | 1.00 | 2.00 | 1.20 | — |
| EIP Payout Multiple | — | — | — | — | 142% of target overall | — |
Notes: CEO EIP calculated as base salary × 260% × (90%×CPF + 10%×Purpose), yielding $5,117,424 for FY2025 .
Long-Term Equity – PRSUs (Fiscal 2023–2025 cycle results; granted FY2023)
| Metric | Weighting/Mechanism | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Goal Multiplier (Operating Income/OCF/EPS) | Average across FY2023–FY2025 (annual goals) | 116% |
| Relative TSR Modifier (vs S&P 500) | ±20% (capped at target if absolute TSR negative) | 119% |
| Earned PRSUs (% of Target) | Target × Financial × TSR | 138% |
| CEO Shares Earned (FY2023 PRSUs) | — | 510,062 |
FY2025 Grants – Structure and Targets
| Award Type | Target Units | Max Units | Target Grant Value ($) | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRSUs (CEO) | 304,547 | 610,312 | 16,680,039 | Earned on FY2025–FY2027 operating income; settle post-certification; TSR modifier ±20% capped at target if absolute TSR negative . |
| Time-based RSUs (CEO) | 216,175 | — | 11,120,042 | 34% on 11/10/2025, then 8.25% quarterly . |
| Transformational PRSUs (Product ARR; FY2023 program) | N/A | N/A | N/A | FY2023–FY2025 average Transformational Financial Goal Multiplier = 97%; CEO earned 368,872 PRSUs . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Beneficial Ownership | 526 shares; less than 1% of outstanding . Excludes fully vested deferred stock units not settling within 60 days (243,000 DSUs plus dividend equivalents excluded) . |
| Stock Ownership Guidelines | CEO required ≥6× base salary; executives ≥4× . |
| Compliance Status | Robbins held more than 14× his base salary as calculated under Cisco’s policy as of Oct 17, 2025 . |
| Pledging/Hedging | Prohibited for executive officers and directors; short sales and derivatives also prohibited . |
| Vested vs Unvested Snapshot (FY2025 YE) | Earned PRSUs pending settlement: 553,713 (FY2023 cycle) . Earned Transformational PRSUs pending settlement: 400,440 . Un-earned PRSUs at maximum assumption: 617,910 (FY2024 cycle) and 626,922 (FY2025 cycle) . |
| Stock Vested FY2025 | 465,403 shares vested; $26,756,521 value realized . |
| Options | No stock options outstanding or exercised; Cisco did not grant options to NEOs in FY2025 . |
Employment Terms
| Provision | Key Terms |
|---|---|
| Employment/Severance Agreements | Cisco discloses none of its executive officers, including the CEO, have employment, severance, or change-in-control agreements . |
| Change-in-Control | No single-trigger vesting; awards accelerate only if not assumed/replaced by acquirer . |
| Death/Terminal Illness | Vesting acceleration policy up to the greater of: full acceleration capped at $10M of value or up to one year of vesting; PRSUs at target . |
| Retirement Treatment | CEO eligible for retirement vesting; PRSUs continue on schedule and settle based on certified performance; RSUs vest upon eligible retirement for grants beginning FY2024 . |
| Clawback | Expanded per SEC rules; applies to all cash and equity incentive awards received on/after Oct 2, 2023; prior policy covered PRSUs and EIP . |
| Perquisites | Limited; FY2025 CEO “All Other Compensation” $460,637 including security costs and vacation payout; no golden parachute tax gross-ups; aircraft personal use requires reimbursement of incremental costs . |
| Deferred Compensation | CEO participates; Deferred Compensation Plan balance $2,316,493 and deferred DSUs balance valued at $19,920,581 at FY2025 YE . |
Board Governance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Board Service | Director since 2015; Board Chair since 2017 . |
| Independence | Not independent as an employee; all other directors independent . |
| Committees | CEO/Chair does not serve on standing committees; Audit (Garrett Chair), Compensation (Schulman Chair), Nomination & Governance (Capellas Chair), Public Policy (Bush Chair) . |
| Lead Independent Director | Robust role: approves agendas/schedules, liaises with CEO/Chair, chairs executive sessions, leads board evaluations; currently Michael D. Capellas . |
| Board Attendance | FY2025: Board held 6 meetings; all incumbent directors attended ≥75% of Board/committee meetings; 9 directors attended last annual meeting . |
| Director Compensation | Program applies to non-employee directors; annual equity grant $245k in FY2025, rising to $270k for FY2026; immediate vesting; cash retainers by role; governance cap $800k/year . Robbins, as an employee director, is not included in non-employee director compensation tables . |
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback
| Year | Approval | Program Responses to Feedback |
|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Meeting | ~75% | — |
| FY2025 Meeting | ~77% | Shifted PRSUs to multi-year operating income goal; capped TSR modifier at target if absolute TSR negative; referenced peer median; added holding requirement to guidelines; set FY2026 goals above FY2025 actuals . |
Compensation Peer Group (selection criteria: large-cap IT; revenues >$10B; market cap >$30B)
Accenture, Adobe, Alphabet, Apple, Broadcom, Dell, HP, Intel, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, Qualcomm, Salesforce, Visa .
Director/Related Party Items
- Current public directorship: BlackRock, Inc. .
- Related party: a son of Mr. Robbins began employment in Q1 FY2026 as an account manager; no compensation in FY2025 .
Investment Implications
- High alignment from multi-year PRSUs tied to operating income and relative TSR, with explicit caps and rigorous goal setting; FY2023 cycle earned at 138% supports realized pay tracking performance .
- Near-term vesting events: large blocks of earned PRSUs and transformational PRSUs scheduled to settle November 10, 2025 could create mechanical selling for tax/withholding, but insider hedging/pledging is prohibited, and CEO must meet/maintain stringent ownership multiples and holdings .
- Governance mitigants to dual CEO/Chair role include a strong Lead Independent Director, fully independent key committees, and robust engagement with shareholders (61% of shares engaged in FY2025) .
- Limited perquisites, no SERP or tax gross-ups, clawback compliance, and no single-trigger vesting reduce shareholder-unfriendly risks; say-on-pay approval improved to ~77% after program changes .