Xerox CEO John Visentin Dies After Battling ‘Ongoing Illness’

Visentin joined Xerox as chairman right after it ended a fight over whether to sell the company to its partner and rival Fujifilm, and took the lead in a hostile takeover bid of HP Inc. that ended with no action taken.

John Visentin, who led Xerox during a time of great change in the company including its flirtations with possible mergers and acquisitions with rivals HP and Fuji, has passed away.

Xerox Wednesday said Visentin, who joined Xerox as vice chairman and CEO in May of 2018, passed away Tuesday “due to complications caused by an ongoing illness.” Details of the illness were not released. He was 59 years old.

When CRN in February met with Visentin, he appeared healthy as he described his plans to expand the Norwalk, Conn.-based IT company’s market share with new offerings in the artificial intelligence and robotic process automation spaces.

[Related: 5 Ways Xerox CEO John Visentin Plans To Boost Sales]

Steve Bandrowczak, Xerox’s president and chief operations officer since 2018, has been named interim CEO, Xerox said.

The death of Visentin comes on the heels of the move by two Xerox directors, including Chairman Keith Cozza, to step down from the company.

Visentin joined Xerox in May 2018 immediately following a high-profile legal battle between activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason and entrenched board members over the companies proposed sale to Fujifilm.

Following a legal victory for Icahn and Deason, the sale was scrapped, the board members left and Visentin was installed as CEO, replacing Jeff Jacobson.

Visentin in September of 2019 approached HP to discuss the possibility of HP acquiring Xerox in the wake of news that Xerox was interested in acquiring HP. Two months later, Xerox launched what became a hostile bid to acquire HP, but by April of 2020 the hostile bid had ended.

Xerox did not respond to a CRN request for further information about the passing of Visentin.

However, in a prepared statement, Xerox Chairman James Nelson said that Visentin drove Xerox forward since he joined the company in May of 2018.

“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,” Nelson said in the statement.

Visentin is survived by his wife and five daughters.