Xerox CEO Strategy Case: Where Growth Comes From and How Investors Benefit

Imagine you have just been appointed CEO of Xerox, the document-technology company best known for office printers and copiers. How would you tackle the company's growth and create value for its shareholders? Lay out your diagnosis, the options you would weigh, what you would recommend and how you would know it is working. ```hint Map the money and the assets Before proposing moves, sort today's revenue by where it comes from and how each stream is trending, then list which of the company's assets (customers, technology, service network, brand) a growth move could actually reuse. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Over what horizon should shareholder value be judged: near-term cash returns, or a multi-year transformation? - Should I assume the core printing business keeps shrinking as more work goes digital? - Are acquisitions, divestitures or spin-offs on the table, and how much debt can the company take on? - Should the plan stay with the large organizations the company sells to today, or may it reach new customer groups? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A diagnosis of the current business: where revenue and cash come from, how they are trending, and which assets can be reused - Growth options generated systematically and scored on explicit criteria such as market growth, right to win and capital needed - A recommendation that says what to fund, what to shrink or sell, and how the existing business pays for the change - A clear link from the plan to shareholder value through cash flow, margins and capital allocation, not revenue alone - Milestones, metrics and the main risks of the recommendation ### Follow-up Questions - Some investors argue the company should stop investing and return all its cash. How would you respond? - If your growth bet misses its milestones, when and how would you cut it back? - How would you keep existing service and supplies customers loyal while attention shifts to new businesses?