John Visentin, the technology executive who held the position of CEO at Xerox four years ago, died unexpectedly Tuesday “due to complications from an ongoing illness,” the company said. He was 59 years old.
Xerox did not reveal where Visentin died or what disease caused his death. Xerox President Steve Bandrowczak has been named interim CEO.
“John’s vision was clear and the Xerox team will continue to fulfill it,” Bandrowczak said in a statement.
James Nelson, chairman of Xerox’s board of directors, said in a statement that Visentin advanced the company by keeping Xerox’s printing business alive while offering new digital and IT-focused services to customers.
Visentin held executive positions at Hewlett Packard and IBM before joining Xerox. He was also the former CEO of computer consultancy Exela Technologies, according to his LinkedIn page. Visentin leaves behind a wife and five daughters.
“We are all very saddened by this tragic news and we keep his family at the forefront of our thoughts at this difficult time,” Bandrowczak said.
AP
A pioneer of printing
For much of its existence, the company run by Visentin has been known as a manufacturer of printing and copying machines.
Xerox was one of the first pioneers in laser printers and photocopying during the 1970s. Decades later, the company appointed Ursula Burns as CEO in 2009, marking the first time in U.S. history that a woman black ran a Fortune 500 company. Burns resigned in 2016 and Jeff Jacobson ran the company for a year until Visentin took his place.
Xerox was founded in Rochester, New York, in 1906. The company is now headquartered in Connecticut, but still employs hundreds of workers in upstate New York.
Xerox officials said in the statement that Visentin led them through “unprecedented times and challenges.” The company saw its revenue drop from $ 9.8 billion in 2018 to $ 7 billion last year. The number of employees fell from about 32,400 to 23,300 worldwide during the same time period, according to company documents.
Perhaps the most dramatic chapter of Visentin’s tenure took place in early 2020, when Xerox attempted to acquire competitor HP. Xerox offered to buy HP for $ 35 billion, but HP resisted, Reuters reported. At the time, both companies were facing declining sales and were trying to find new ways to grow.
Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn, one of Xerox’s major shareholders, pushed for the acquisition of HP, but the company eventually stopped pursuing HP in 2020, according to Reuters.
Xerox’s stock price fell about 2% on Thursday morning to about $ 14.75 per share.
Add Comment