The world's largest network equipment maker, Cisco Systems, said today that it picked up the former chief of technology from Motorola to as its own.

The network company announced on Tuesday that Padmasree Warrior, the veteran Motorola executive will take over the position at Cisco which has been vacant for over 2 years.

Padmasree's new role as CTO will help to develop and promote Cisco's future technology leadership, said John Chambers, chairman and CEO, Cisco.

Cisco said it had decided to re-establish the CTO role as part of an effort to focus to the company's technology strategy as it attempted to take advantage of a new generation of internet technologies.

I believe Cisco to be a company that is at the heart of a second phase of internet evolution, Ms Warrior said, pointing to opportunities in areas such as online collaboration and mobility.

Warrior is one of several top executives to leave the handset and semi-conductor company in recent weeks.

On Friday the firm's CEO, Ed Zander, stepped down after struggling to make a hit product after record sales of its Razr mobile phone.

Already the worldwide leader in selling Internet infrastructure, Cisco is aggressively trying to cement itself as a key player in technologies that use the Internet as its foundation.

If I look at the future and areas I think where the industry's going to evolve, Cisco's a company that can lead the industry, Warrior said.

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