Cisco Appoints Strategy Chief Mark Patterson As New CFO, Succeeding Scott Herren

Mark Patterson, currently the Chief Strategy Officer, will take over as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with effect from July 27, 2025. He will be succeeding Scott Herren, who will retire in late July after nearly five years with the company.

Patterson has led Cisco’s corporate strategy, development, and incubation functions and previously held roles including Chief of Staff to the CEO. Before becoming Chief Strategy Officer, he held several senior roles at Cisco. As Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff to the Chair and CEO, he worked closely on aligning Cisco’s core functions through strategy and leadership forums. He also served as Senior Vice President of Global Strategy, Planning, and Operations, where he contributed to the company’s shift toward recurring revenue and digital selling. Patterson led global sales operations, including partner training, compensation, customer feedback initiatives, and management of Cisco’s Customer Experience Centres.

Before joining Cisco in 2020, Herren served as CFO at Autodesk for over six years, where he led global financial strategy and played a central role in transitioning the company from perpetual licenses to a subscription-based model. His responsibilities included operations, corporate development, financial systems, tax, treasury, and procurement. Earlier in his career, Herren held senior strategy and finance roles at Citrix Systems, FedEx, and IBM. At Cisco, he focused on driving the shift to recurring revenue, enhancing shareholder value, and upholding the company’s commitment to integrity and transparency.