Xerox CEO Visentin passes away

John Visentin, the Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Xerox, has died unexpectedly on Tuesday due to complications from an ongoing illness.

James Nelson, Chairman of Xerox’s Board of Directors said, “Since joining the company in May 2018, John drove Xerox forward. As a champion for innovation, he embraced and enhanced Xerox’s legacy as a print and services provider and embarked on a transformative journey that broadened the company’s expertise and offerings to digital and IT services, financial services and disruptive technologies. John’s drive, energy and commitment to the business and its customers, partners and employees will be greatly missed.”

For now, Steve Bandrowczak, Xerox’s President and Chief Operations Officer since 2018, will serve as Interim CEO.

Visentin took over as CEO in May 2018 after the departure of the former CEO Jeff Jacobson following a protracted battle over the future of the company with investor Carl Icahn. Visentin, whose career included executive roles at HP and venture capital firm Apollo Global Management, had worked as a senior consultant with Icahn Enterprises prior to joining Xerox. 

His first task was to deal with the fallout from the proposed merger with Fujifilm. Ultimately he withdrew Xerox altogether from the Fuji Xerox business, before embarking on an unsuccessful attempt to take over HP. He went on to transform Xerox, streamlining much of the organisation and overseeing the development of new products, including a move into 3D printing. This is still very much a work in progress but I think it’s fair to say that Xerox will find it hard to replace Visentin.

As Bandrowczak noted: “John’s vision was clear, and the Xerox team will continue fulfilling it – not only to deliver on our commitments to our shareholders, customers and partners – but also to pursue John’s legacy.”