Chuck Robbins has been appointed Cisco's next CEO which puts him in the hot seat for one of the world's largest networking companies and what has been an industry bellwether.

Fran Katsoudas, Chief Human Resources Officer said in March of 2015, the board held a multi-day offsite meeting where the leading candidates were asked to present their future vision for the company and how they would execute their vision as CEO, and the external slate was narrowed further.

Robbins, 49, has been steadily rising through the ranks at Cisco for the past 17 years, working mostly on sales.Cisco also credited Robbins with helping grow the company into the commercial business segment that now makes up 25% of revenue.

He was also a key player behind some big acquisitions at Cisco recently, including security company Sourcefire for $2.7 billion in 2013 as well as network gear maker Meraki for $1.2 billion in 2012.

Rod McGeary, Cisco Board Member and Chair, Cisco's Compensation and Management Development Committee said that Robbins embodies all the characteristics and traits we had outlined initially for the ideal Cisco CEO.

"Chuck will both accelerate what makes Cisco an undeniably great company and also drive the transformation to carry the company to a whole new level. Chuck has the full confidence and trust of the Cisco Board as we enter this next chapter," he said.