Xerox chief to retire

Xerox Corp. said Thursday that Chief Executive Anne Mulcahy would retire July 1, to be succeeded by Ursula Burns, the printer and copier maker’s president. She will make Xerox the largest U.S. company to be headed by a black woman.

The move has been in the works since Burns, 50, became heir-apparent and company president in April 2007.

No company in the Fortune 500 has ever had a black woman as CEO, according to magazine spokesman Daniel Kile.

Burns, who joined Xerox in 1980, takes the top job in a period of renewed stress on the company as the recession crimps spending on printer equipment and supplies. Norwalk, Conn.-based Xerox said late last year that it would slash 3,000 jobs to cut costs, and its first-quarter revenue fell 18%.

Mulcahy, 56, will continue to chair the Xerox board.

After joining Xerox as a sales representative in 1976 and rising through management ranks, Mulcahy became CEO in 2001 when the company fired G. Richard Thoman amid mounting losses. She is credited with leading the company out of its financial slump.

Xerox shares fell 8 cents to $6.82 on Thursday.