Cisco vs Fortinet: Founders, CEOs and History
Cisco was founded in 1984 by Leonard Bosack, Sandy Lerner and is led by Chuck Robbins. Fortinet was founded in 2000 by Ken Xie, Michael Xie and is led by Ken Xie.
Company facts
Founders
Cisco
Leonard Bosack
Cisco Systems possesses one of the most famous, romanticized, and ultimately contentious founding stories in the history of Silicon Valley. The company was founded in 1984 by a husband-and-wife team, Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner.
Sandy Lerner
Sandy Lerner co-founded Cisco Systems in December 1984 with her then-husband Leonard Bosack, driven by the practical need to connect Stanford University's incompatible computer networks.
Fortinet
Ken Xie
Ken Xie co-founded Fortinet in 2000 with his brother Michael and has led it as Chairman and CEO since. Before Fortinet he co-founded NetScreen Technologies, a hardware-accelerated firewall company that Juniper Networks acquired in 2004 for about $4 billion.
Michael Xie
Michael Xie co-founded Fortinet with his brother Ken Xie in 2000 and serves as President and Chief Technology Officer. He oversees engineering, including the FortiOS operating system and the FortiASIC processors that accelerate FortiGate firewalls.
CEOs and their tenures
Cisco
- John Morgridge1988–1995
Former CEO and Chairman
Morgridge was Cisco's first professional CEO, recruited in 1988 by Sequoia Capital investor Don Valentine to professionalize a company still run by its engineering founders.
Source - John Chambers1995–2015
Former Chairman and CEO
Chambers led Cisco for 20 years and transformed it through over 180 acquisitions into the dominant force in enterprise networking infrastructure.
Source - Chuck Robbins2015–present
Chairman and CEO
Robbins has led Cisco's fundamental shift from hardware networking products toward recurring software and subscription revenue. The 28 billion dollar Splunk acquisition in 2024 positioned Cisco as a leading security and observability platform vendor.
Source
Fortinet
- Christiane Ohlgart
Chief Financial Officer
Leads finance and accounting as CFO and principal financial and accounting officer.
Source - Ken Xie2000–present
Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Xie is widely recognized as one of the most successful and enduring pioneers of the modern cybersecurity industry.
Source - Michael Xie2000–present
Co-Founder, President and Chief Technology Officer
Co-founded Fortinet with his brother Ken Xie in 2000 and has served as President and CTO, directing engineering and the custom silicon that differentiates FortiGate.
Source
Timeline: Cisco and Fortinet side by side
1984Cisco
Company Founded at Stanford University
Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner incorporate Cisco Systems in December 1984, commercializing multi-protocol router technology developed to connect Stanford's campus networks.
1986Cisco
First Commercial Router Shipped
Cisco ships its first commercial multi-protocol router, the AGS (Advanced Gateway Server), generating $1.5 million in first-year revenue as the internet begins its transition from research network to commercial infrastructure.
1990Cisco
Initial Public Offering on NASDAQ
Cisco goes public at a valuation of approximately $224 million, raising capital that would fuel its aggressive acquisition strategy. The IPO also precipitated the departure of both founders.
1995Cisco
John Chambers Becomes CEO
John Chambers takes over as CEO from John Morgridge, beginning a 20-year tenure that would see Cisco grow from $2 billion to over $47 billion in annual revenue through more than 180 acquisitions.
2000Cisco
Briefly Becomes World's Most Valuable Company
Cisco's market capitalization exceeds $500 billion in March 2000, briefly surpassing Microsoft and GE as the world's most valuable company before the dot-com crash erased over $400 billion in shareholder value.
2000Fortinet
Fortinet Founded
Ken Xie and Michael Xie founded Fortinet to build high-performance network security products.
2002Fortinet
FortiGate Launch
The FortiGate appliance family established Fortinet's firewall-led product identity.
2003Cisco
Acquisition of Linksys
Cisco acquires consumer networking company Linksys for $500 million, marking its entry into the home networking market and establishing a consumer brand that would later be divested to Belkin in 2013.
2009Fortinet
IPO
Fortinet went public, giving the company access to capital for global enterprise expansion.
2012Cisco
Meraki Acquisition Launches Cloud-Managed Networking
Cisco acquires cloud-managed networking startup Meraki for $1.2 billion, gaining the platform that would become central to its small-and-medium business strategy and its broader shift toward subscription-based management.
2015Cisco
Chuck Robbins Appointed CEO
Chuck Robbins succeeds John Chambers as CEO, inheriting a mandate to transform Cisco from a hardware company into a software-and-subscription platform business capable of competing in the cloud era.
2017Cisco
AppDynamics Acquisition for $3.7 Billion
Cisco acquires application performance monitoring company AppDynamics for $3.7 billion just days before its planned IPO, signaling Cisco's strategic commitment to the observability and application intelligence market.
2019Fortinet
Security Fabric Expansion
Fortinet broadened from firewalls into integrated secure networking, endpoint, cloud, and operations products.
2020Cisco
Webex Usage Surges During COVID-19 Pandemic
Webex usage explodes to over 600 million meeting participants per month during the pandemic, temporarily positioning Cisco's collaboration platform as a critical piece of global remote work infrastructure.
2024Cisco
$28 Billion Splunk Acquisition Completed
Cisco completes its largest-ever acquisition, purchasing cybersecurity and observability company Splunk for $28 billion in cash, pushing subscription revenue past 51% of total sales and establishing Cisco as a major force in security operations.
2024Fortinet
Lacework and Next DLP Acquisitions
Fortinet bought cloud-security firm Lacework and data-loss-prevention vendor Next DLP.
2025Cisco
AI Infrastructure Orders Exceed $2 Billion
Cisco's AI infrastructure orders from hyperscale customers surpass $2 billion in FY2025, more than doubling management's original target and validating the company's investment in Silicon One-based networking platforms for GPU cluster interconnection.
2025Fortinet
Service Revenue Reaches Two-Thirds of Sales
FY2025 service revenue reached $4.5812B, or 67 percent of total revenue.
2026Fortinet
Refresh-Driven Acceleration
Q2 2026 revenue rose 26% to $2.05B and 2026 revenue guidance was raised to $8.02-$8.18B.
Acquisitions
Fortinet
- Everest2025Undisclosed
- Lacework2024Undisclosed
- Next DLP2024Undisclosed
- ShieldX2021Undisclosed
- Sken.Ai2021Undisclosed
- OPAQ Networks2020Undisclosed
Questions about Cisco vs Fortinet
Who is the CEO of Cisco Systems, Inc. and Fortinet, Inc.?
Cisco Systems, Inc. is led by Chuck Robbins and Fortinet, Inc. is led by Ken Xie. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Cisco Systems, Inc. founded vs Fortinet, Inc.?
Cisco Systems, Inc. was founded in 1984 — 16 years before Fortinet, Inc., which was founded in 2000. Cisco Systems, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Fortinet, Inc..
How many employees does Cisco Systems, Inc. have compared to Fortinet, Inc.?
Cisco Systems, Inc. employs approximately 82,400 people, while Fortinet, Inc. employs approximately 15,109. Cisco Systems, Inc. has the larger workforce at 82,400 employees, compared to Fortinet, Inc.'s 15,109. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Cisco Systems, Inc. and Fortinet, Inc. headquartered?
Both Cisco Systems, Inc. and Fortinet, Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Cisco Systems, Inc. and Fortinet, Inc.?
Cisco Systems, Inc. was founded by Leonard Bosack, Sandy Lerner. Fortinet, Inc. was founded by Ken Xie, Michael Xie.
Which company has a longer operating history — Cisco Systems, Inc. or Fortinet, Inc.?
Cisco Systems, Inc. has been operating for approximately 42 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Fortinet, Inc. has been in operation for around 26 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Cisco vs Fortinet overview