Cisco gets Papermaster after Apple exit

Cisco has signed on former Apple Senior VP Mark Papermaster, the firm said this evening. The network giant has hired the recently departed executive to help engineer "chips for switches" and likely other equipment like routers. Terms of the deal haven't been made public.

The return to work has come three months after Papermaster was pushed out of his leadership of Device Hardware Engineering at Apple. Company officials never officially confirmed the reasons behind the exit, but insiders claimed it was a clash with Steve Jobs and company culture. He was said to have been unused both to Jobs' frequent direct control as well as the ingenuity and frequent dedication of other executives, many of whom have been with the company for several years or more.

The public, though not necessarily the company, has sometimes considered Papermaster a figurehead for the design problems that have blemished the iPhone 4's reputation in spite of strong sales. He would have had at least some oversight over the controversial antenna and the glass back, but Jobs has reportedly signed off on final design decisions. Jobs himself has rejected notions of advance knowledge that the antenna might be an issue.

By Electronista Staff