Kinko’s Chairman Orfalea Leaving Board; Ames Selected to Fill Spot

Paul Orfalea, founder of Ventura-based Kinko’s Inc., is stepping aside as chairman of the chain of copy shops and will no longer serve on its board.

He will be succeeded by B. Charles Ames, principal of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc., a New York-based leverage-buyout firm that owns about 30% of Kinko’s privately held stock. Orfalea will no longer be involved in the company’s day-to-day operations but will have the title of chairman emeritus.

In 1997, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice invested nearly $214 million toward Kinko’s worldwide expansion and consolidated 130 different entities operating under the Kinko’s name into a centralized corporate structure. Since then, the company has grown from 850 locations to over 1,000.

“[Orfalea] is very pleased about this move and is looking forward to spending more time with his family,” company spokeswoman Laura McCormick said.

Orfalea started the company as a college student in 1970 with a single copy shop near UC Santa Barbara, and over the next 30 years transformed his company into an operation with more than 24,000 employees in the U.S. and nine other countries. Last week, it launched https://www.kinkos.com, its online storefront. (Willoughby Mariano)

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