Cisco vs Huawei: Founders, CEOs and History
Cisco was founded in 1984 by Leonard Bosack, Sandy Lerner and is led by Chuck Robbins. Huawei was founded in 1987 by Ren Zhengfei and is led by Ren Zhengfei.
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.
Huawei
Ren Zhengfei
Ren Zhengfei is an incredibly powerful Chinese business magnate and the profoundly influential founding architect fundamentally responsible for building the massive Huawei Technologies empire.
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
Huawei
- Ren Zhengfei1988–present
Director and Chief Executive Officer
Huawei describes a collective governance model in which the board is the highest body responsible for corporate strategy and operations and rotating chairs lead the board for six-month terms.
Source - Sun Yafang1999–2018
Chairwoman
Sun Yafang served as Chairwoman of Huawei from 1999 to 2018. She played a pivotal role in establishing Huawei's human resources and marketing departments, establishing international partnerships, and serving as the key public representative of the company glob…
Source - Xu Zhijun (Eric Xu)2011–present
Deputy Chairman and Rotating Chairman
Long-serving rotating chair who has fronted Huawei's Ascend AI computing roadmap.
Source - Sabrina Meng (Meng Wanzhou)2023–present
Deputy Chairwoman, Rotating Chair, and CFO
Huawei CFO and Ren Zhengfei's daughter; became a rotating chair in 2023.
Source - David Wang (Wang Tao)2026–present
Deputy Chairman and Rotating Chairman
Previously led Huawei's ICT infrastructure business.
Source
Timeline: Cisco and Huawei 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.
1987Huawei
Huawei Founded
Ren Zhengfei founded Huawei in Shenzhen, initially selling telecommunications switches before investing in proprietary products.
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.
1993Huawei
C&C08 Digital Switch
Huawei launched the C&C08 digital switch, giving the company a proprietary telecom product and a path beyond resale.
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.
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.
2004Huawei
HiSilicon Established
Huawei established HiSilicon as an internal chip-design capability, a decision that later became critical under semiconductor export controls.
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.
2019Huawei
U.S. Entity List Restrictions
The U.S. Department of Commerce placed Huawei on the Entity List, restricting access to certain U.S. technologies and reshaping Huawei's supply-chain strategy.
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.
2023Huawei
Mate 60 and Domestic Chip Comeback
Huawei's Mate 60 launch signaled a consumer-device comeback in China and drew attention to its domestic semiconductor and software substitution strategy.
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.
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.
2025Huawei
~$122B (CNY 880.9B) 2025 Revenue
Huawei reported ~$122B (CNY 880.9B) in 2025 revenue (+2.2%), ~$9.45B (CNY 68.0B) in net profit, and ~$26.7B (CNY 192.3B) in R&D spending.
2026Huawei
Eric Xu Begins Rotating-Chair Term
Eric Xu became Rotating and Acting Chairman for October 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027, after David Wang's first term from April to September 2026.
Acquisitions
Huawei
- Neul2014Undisclosed
- Huawei Symantec (Joint Venture Buyout)2012Undisclosed
Questions about Cisco vs Huawei
Who is the CEO of Cisco Systems, Inc. and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.?
Cisco Systems, Inc. is led by Chuck Robbins and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. is led by Ren Zhengfei. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Cisco Systems, Inc. founded vs Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.?
Cisco Systems, Inc. was founded in 1984 — 3 years before Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., which was founded in 1987. Cisco Systems, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd..
How many employees does Cisco Systems, Inc. have compared to Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.?
Cisco Systems, Inc. employs approximately 82,400 people, while Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. employs approximately 213,000. Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. has the larger workforce at 213,000 employees, compared to Cisco Systems, Inc.'s 82,400. 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 Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. headquartered?
Cisco Systems, Inc. is headquartered in United States and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. is headquartered in China. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded Cisco Systems, Inc. and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.?
Cisco Systems, Inc. was founded by Leonard Bosack, Sandy Lerner. Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. was founded by Ren Zhengfei.
Which company has a longer operating history — Cisco Systems, Inc. or Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.?
Cisco Systems, Inc. has been operating for approximately 42 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. has been in operation for around 39 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 Huawei overview