Xerox CFO to step down

Osbourn: "critical role" managing Xerox’s finances during a challenging time
Osbourn: "critical role" managing Xerox’s finances during a challenging time

Xerox is looking for a new CFO after incumbent William Osbourn announced he was stepping down for personal reasons.

Osbourn joined the group in December 2016. He will leave at the end of this month.

Xerox CEO John Visentin thanked Osbourn for his contribution to the business and said the Xerox team wished him well for the future.

“There comes a time when we all must make hard decisions as it relates to work/life balance. At this time, Bill has decided he needs to focus on his family and personal goals,” Visentin said.

“Bill played a critical role managing Xerox’s finances through a challenging time in the company’s history, serving as a steady hand through leadership changes, a major transformation and most recently a pandemic.”

Xavier Heiss (pictured below) will take over as interim CFO while a search for Osbourn’s successor is carried out.

Heiss has worked at the group for more than 30 years, having begun his career at Xerox France. He took over as president of Xerox’s EMEA operations in February, and prior to that he was CFO at the Xerox Americas business.

Separately, activist investor Carl Icahn has increased his stake in Xerox to nearly 13% in recent weeks. Icahn Associates is the biggest shareholder in the $9.1bn group. 

Last month Xerox announced it was issuing $1.1bn in senior loan notes due for repayment in 2025 and 2028.

It will use the proceeds to repay/retire existing loan notes that fall due next year.