What really happened to Juniper's CEO, who stepped down after 'conduct in connection with… a particular customer'?

Replacement already named as Rami Rahim - but what went down?

Juniper's CEO Shaygan Kheradpir stepped down after less than a year in the post, it emerged on Monday.

With the networking equipment company's press release on the matter stating that Kheradpir "resigned...follow[ing] a review by the board of directors of his leadership and his conduct in connection with a particular negotiation with a customer".

Furthermore, it said, "the board and Kheradpir have different perspectives regarding these matters".

The board's review, the release also stated, "will not result in any adjustments to the company's financial statements".

In the same release, Juniper announced the appointment of Rami Rahim - 17-year Juniper "veteran" and previously executive VP and general manager of the company's development and innovation arm.

Rahim is "honoured to be asked to lead Juniper", while the information about Kheradpir's departure is buried at the bottom of the release.

But what actually happened? Short of jumping on the boardroom table and throwing biscuits in their faces, it's difficult to imagine what Kheradpir could have done to deserve his "invitation" to resign from his board.

Scott Kriens, current chairman and ex-CEO of Juniper, told The Wall Street Journal that in the board's opinion, Kheradpir's "conduct was inconsistent with [Juniper's] expectations", but that the issue was really "about [Juniper's] definition of leadership".

"It was time for a change," he concluded.

Meanwhile, in an internal email obtained by Network World Kriens wrote that Kheradpir's leadership was causing doubts across the industry.

"Not everyone sees us today as leaders," said the email.

"While many still believe in us, others are skeptical, and we have given them some reason to be. While some of our challenges are felt by the entire networking industry, some are made more difficult by doubts about Juniper and some of those doubts have been brought on by Juniper itself. That stops today."

These are fighting words, and with Juniper already making 570 layoffs - six per cent of its entire workforce - back in April 2014 and ongoing rumours that Kheradpir was slimming the company to be sold, it seems a catalogue of reasons could lie behind the CEO's swift exit.

But with Juniper's share prices in the doldrums as far back as 2012, when it reached a record low of $14.50 - and at only $20.28 today - will changing leadership (again) really achieve anything for the company? With activist investors encouraging the firm to sell or spin off businesses, Juniper recently announced it expects only $1.03-$1.08bn revenue for the coming quarter, falling significantly short of analyst estimates of $1.18bn.