LONDON (Brand Republic) - Donald Listwin, the top vice-president of Cisco Systems, is leaving the company to lead the $6.8bn ( £4.5bn) merger of internet firms Software.com and Phone.com.
Listwin, who was one of the world’s best-paid executives last year, hopes the merger will create a global empire which will cash in on the growth of the wireless internet. Listwin will be chief executive officer and president of the company, and Phone.com’s founder Alain Rossmann –- who invented Wap –- will be chairman.
The merger, which should be completed by the end of the year, will create a company valued at $12bn with revenues of $150m. The name of the combined company will be announced after the completion of the merger.
Listwin joined Cisco, one of the world’s largest companies, in 1990, and became a vice-president in 1998.