Charles Carmel has stepped down as vice president of corporate development with Cisco Systems (CSCO), in order to join private equity firm Warburg Pincus. Carmel will work out of San Francisco as a managing director, with a focus on investment opportunities in the technology sector.
“Charles’ experience and expertise in venture capital, M&A and technology are an excellent fit with Warburg Pincus’ growth-oriented approach to investing,” said Pat Hackett, who leads Warburg Pincus’ tech, media and telecom group. “We look forward to Charles adding to the breadth and depth of our global TMT platform by leveraging his network of relationships he has cultivated in Silicon Valley and throughout the sector worldwide.”
Carmel joined Cisco in 2001, and has since helped lead more than $20 billion in mergers and acquisitions. This includes the $3.2 billion purchase of WebEx in 2007 and the $3 billion Tandberg acquisition in 2009. Carmel also is responsible for the firm’s $2 billion venture capital portfolio. Prior to Cisco, he had been part of the tech investment banking group at Goldman Sachs.
No word yet on who will succeed Carmel at Cisco.
Update: Cisco just sent over the following statement: Cisco has announced that Hilton Romanski will head the Corporate Business Development team, effective immediately. Hilton replaces Charles Carmel who left Cisco to pursue another opportunity. Hilton returns to Corporate Development after having spent the last year as part of our Service Provider Business leadership team. Prior to that role, he served as a leader on Cisco’s Corporate Development team for nearly 10 years.
