Xerox increased the size of its Board of Directors this week.
Xerox announced that it has increased its board to 9 members with the appointment of Jonathan Christodoro. He is managing director of Icahn Capital, the company run by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who now owns just under 10 percent of Xerox’s outstanding shares.
This move comes as Xerox plans to split into 2 companies later this year, one focusing on document technology, the other on business services. Xerox had already agreed to give Icahn three seats on the board of the business services company, but now, the Wall Street Journal reports he may have more of a say about the formation of both companies.
Brighton Securities Chairman George Conboy is not surprised by this development.
“Carl Icahn has a large investment in Xerox, nearly a billion dollars worth, my guess is, he’s happier having someone insider as early as possible, to shepherd that investment to whatever he sees as a successful conclusion.”
Xerox has recently announced the new CEOs for the two spinoff companies, but has not yet said where they will be headquartered.