Cisco’s upcoming partner program overhaul took a slight knock this week after one of its long-serving executives departed for Microsoft.

Alexandra Zagury had been at the company for more than a decade, most recently serving as VP for global partner operations and platform experience.

Her departure, first reported by CRN, was confirmed in a LinkedIn post, in which she said it “wasn’t an easy decision” to leave.

“I’m deeply grateful to the customers and partners who made this journey so rewarding and impactful, and to the leaders who believed in me, opened doors across continents, and challenged me to grow,” Zagury said. “Your guidance, trust, and support have been invaluable, and I will carry those lessons with me into this next chapter.”

Her departure from Cisco comes as the networking giant is set to roll out its streamlined partner program. Starting in February next year, Cisco 360 will replace the vendor’s long-standing program, with existing incentive offerings like VIP, Perform, and the Cisco Services Partner Program (CSPP) merged into a single structure.

A Cisco spokesperson told CRN that despite Zagury’s departure, its managed services strategy “remain unchanged.”

“We’re investing more than ever in enabling partners to capture this market opportunity,” the spokesperson said. “Our partners will see this strong commitment in action at Partner Summit in November and with the launch of Cisco 360 Partner Program in February 2026.”

Zagury is set to serve as Microsoft’s corporate VP for global channel sales. Her move came the same week as another major appointment for the hyperscaler, with Microsoft appointing Judson Althoff, the architect behind designing and building Microsoft Customer and Partner Solutions, as CEO of its commercial business.

The executive joined Cisco from MusicQubed, a digital music startup, back in 2014, having helped drive global partnerships with brands like Viacom’s MTV, O2, and Vodafone. She also previously held executive positions at Citi, CNBC, Yahoo, and BlackBerry, respectively.