Cisco has named Ned Hooper its chief strategy office responsible for M&A and investments, a move Cisco watchers interpret as anointing CEO John Chambers’ heir presumptive.

Hooper’s already the company’s senior VP of corporate development and head of its consumer unit, jobs he will keep.

Cisco’s moving out of its traditional playground and says Hooper will help shape its plans and incubate new technologies.

Acquired through an acquisition 11 years ago, Hooper was once Cisco’s VP of business development and bought Linksys, Scientific Atlanta, Webex, IronPort and Pure Digital, upping corporate revenue by $5 billion since 2002.