Cisco Common Hardware Group (CHG) lead Martin Lund is leaving the networking giant to take over leadership of an unnamed “early-stage AI startup,” a move that Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said will also mean that the CHG business will move under the purview of chief product officer Jeetu Patel.

Robbins noted the move in a blog post, with the timing aligned with Lund’s own announcement via LinkedIn. Both highlighted Lund’s work in establishing Cisco’s AI efforts across silicon, systems, and optics, with a specific callout to Lund’s team introducing Cisco’s Silicon One chips.

“We are grateful for Martin’s leadership and for everything he has done for Cisco and our customers,” Robbins added.

Lund joined Cisco in early 2024, taking over leadership of the CHG group from the outgoing Eyal Dagan.

Lund had previously served a stint at Microsoft as corporate VP for Azure for Operators, where he was responsible for delivering Microsoft cloud-based services for public and private 5G, packet core, voice, and AI operations. That stint was the result of Microsoft acquiring cloud-native communications service vendor Metaswitch Networks, where Lund was serving as CEO.

Prior to Metaswitch, Lund led Broadcom’s networking business for 12 years.

Robbins wrote that the move of Cisco’s CHG business under Patel “will help drive further alignment across our portfolio and accelerate delivery of the differentiated solutions our customers need to be successful in the AI era.”

“Jeetu’s passion for technology, creative vision, and commitment to speed and execution make him the right person to lead this important work and the expanded product team forward,” Robbins continued. “I’m optimistic about what is ahead and I look forward to seeing how Jeetu and the product team will work together to amplify the power of our portfolio, deliver more value for our customers, and fuel our future growth during this once-in-a-lifetime technology revolution.”