Cisco ‘Founding Father’ Rick Justice Remembered For Building Customer-Focused Culture, Legacy Of Trust ‘He made us all better people,’ former Cisco CEO John Chambers tells CRN about his longtime business partner and best friend, Rick Justice, who passed away following his battle with cancer. By Gina Narcisi February 01, 2021, 06:56 PM EST Rick Justice, a longtime member of Cisco’s executive leadership team, has passed away following a 17-year battle with prostate cancer. Justice started his career at Cisco in 1996 and rose to the rank of executive vice president of worldwide operations. He stepped down from his day-to-day responsibilities in 2009 due to his ongoing cancer battle, but stayed on as part-time advisor to then Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers until he retired in 2013, marking a more than 16-year tenure with the San Jose, Calif.-based tech giant.