Xerox Management Succession

In the latest Fortune magazine (cover date Oct 15) it's time again for the annual profile of the 50 most powerful women in business. Of special interest for our industry this year is the lengthy story on Xerox's (NYSE XRX) Anne Mulcahy and Ursula Burns and their relationship, entitled "Xerox's Dynamic Duo".

Long ago, I remember hearing the big business magazines were known for "corporate hero worship" and while I believe that has changed considerably in the last 30 years, this piece by Betsy Morris is long on admiration. But still interesting and very much worth reading. I couldn't help note the paragraph that brought home the little HP (NYSE HPQ)/Xerox skirmish I've been covering the last few weeks. (see below -- my highlights.)

While the team has achieved a minor miracle in the past five years, more than halving the company's debt to $7 billion, boosting net earnings 13-fold to $1.2 billion, and producing breakthrough products like the brand-new, solid-ink printer that can make color copies for the cost of black-and-white - despite all that, revenue has been flat for five years now.

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