NEW YORK — Xerox said Thursday that chief executive Anne Mulcahy will retire July 1, to be succeeded by company president Ursula Burns.
Xerox will become the largest U.S. company to be headed by a black woman.
Mulcahy, 56, is credited with leading the Norwalk, Conn.- based company out of a deep financial slump earlier in the decade. She was appointed in 2001 after the company fired G. Richard Thoman amid mounting losses.
Mulcahy will continue as chairwoman of the board.
The move has been in the works for some time, with Burns, 50, seen as an heir apparent since she was named president in April 2007.
“They effectively had a two-year transition period,” said Shannon Cross, an analyst at Cross Research. “From what I understand, Anne is still going to be around full time, handling customer relations and strategy.”
Burns, right, takes the top job in a period of renewed stress on the company, as the recession crimps spending on printer equipment and supplies.
Xerox said late last year it would cut 3,000 jobs to reduce costs, and the company’s first-quarter revenue fell 18 percent.
