Xerox CEO John Visentin dies at 59 due to complications from illness

Printer behemoth Xerox Holdings Chief Executive Officer John Visentin died Tuesday, 59, due to complications from an ongoing illness.

The company has named Steve Bandrowczak, president and chief operations officer, as interim CEO.

"Since joining the company in May 2018, John drove Xerox forward… John’s drive, energy and commitment to the business and its customers, partners and employees will be greatly missed," James Nelson, Chairman of Xerox’s Board of Directors said in a statement.

Bandrowczak currently develops and executes the global operations strategy for Xerox, the company’s business support functions, including business strategy, product and service delivery and information technology, as well as the company’s newly formed Software and Innovation businesses.

“We are all greatly saddened by this tragic news and are keeping his family at the forefront of our thoughts in this difficult time,” said Bandrowczak.

“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,” Bandrowczak added.

Before joining Xerox, Visentin worked at several tech companies including International Business machine Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co.

Visentin’s term at Xerox is marked by a stark failure of a hostile $35 billion HP Inc. takeover bid in 2020. Xerox asserted that the move would help modernise the companies at a time when the market is faced with declining demand for printed documents. For the past four years, Xerox is stricken by plummeting revenue.