IT Infrastructure and cloud services provider Peak 10 said it has named Michael Fuhrman, a former Cisco (CSCO) executive with some 20+ years experience in threat defense and network security, as chief technology officer (CTO) tasked with overseeing the vendor’s product and service strategy.

Fuhrman is also responsible for leading Peak 10’s research and development efforts, internal IT initiatives, positioning the company’s growth trajectory and delivering innovative solutions to customers.

“The addition of Mike to our executive team is a calculated decision that better positions us to execute on our strategic initiatives, which include further refining and enhancing our product portfolio and implementing our expansion strategy,” said David Jones, Peak 10 chairman and chief executive.

“Mike’s track record of growing and delivering cloud and security services, bringing new products and solutions to market, and success with M&A integration will serve Peak 10 well as we take the next steps to grow our company and further improve on our customers’ experience,” he said.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Fuhrman, who joined Cisco in 1998 and left this past April, served as the networking giant’s Security Services and Cloud Operations. He was responsible for Cisco’s cloud services business, including cloud-delivered security intelligence, security SaaS offerings, the Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) suite, and a data center operations team maintaining 22 data centers globally. He is credited with growing Cisco’s cloud security bookings by 50 percent year-over-year, with 4 million active subscribers and processing some 6 billion web transactions per day.

In his 17-year tenure at Cisco, Fuhrman also served as senior engineering director from 2009 – 2012. Prior to Cisco, Fuhrman was a program manager at WheelGroup, a San Antonio, TX-based security firm acquired by Cisco for $124 million in 1998.

Jones said that Fuhrman’s background and approach will help Peak 10 craft new solutions for customers as its leadership team positions the company to capture opportunities in the $40 billion cloud market.