Fired Apple Exec Mark Papermaster Joins Cisco

Several major media outlets are reporting that former Apple executive Mark Papermaster has joined Cisco to work on "chips for switches," as noted by a Fox Business reporter via Twitter. Papermaster, also a former IBM employee, had been on Apple’s payroll for less than two years before reportedly getting sacked over the iPhone 4 ‘antennagate’ fiasco.

Apple announced on November 4, 2008 that Mark Papermaster was joining the company as senior vice president of Devices Hardware Engineering, reporting to Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

“Mark is a seasoned leader and is going to be an excellent addition to our senior management team,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, at the time of Papermaster's hiring.

Papermaster had left IBM to lead Apple’s iPod and iPhone hardware engineering teams, a position he had earned thanks to 25 years of product and technology experience.

In the same announcement, Apple also revealed that  Tony Fadell, SVP of the iPod Division, and his wife Danielle Lambert, VP of Human Resources, were “reducing their roles within the company as they devote more time to their young family.” Fadell remained at Apple as an advisor to the CEO.

As noted above, several sources now corroborate reports that Mark Papermaster has brought his technical expertise to Cisco where, according to Fox Business reporter Shibano Joshi, he is working on “chips for switches.”

Papermaster left Apple in August. During his stay with the Mac maker, Papermaster oversaw the hardware comprising iPhone 4.

It is yet unclear whether his departure is related to the iPhone 4 “antennagate” fiasco.

However, soon after the news was made public, the generally well informed John Gruber wrote in a blog post, “From what I’ve heard, it’s clear he was sacked. Papermaster was a conspicuous absence at the Antennagate press conference. Inside Apple, he’s 'the guy responsible for the antenna'.”