Anne Mulcahy, Chairman and CEO / Xerox

“We&'ve decided if a product is channel-ready, it&'s going to the channel. End of story,” Mulcahy told CRN in a recent interview while making the rounds to beat the drum for the Stamford, Conn.-based company&'s positioning as a document management solutions vendor, one that hopes to tap solution providers to reach the market.

Mulcahy also addressed a gathering of distribution executives in San Francisco in September, promoting a training program for solution providers. “It&'s an extraordinary opportunity to automate things like mortgage processes, financial transactions,” Mulcahy told the Global Technology Distribution Council.

The channel is also warming up to Mulcahy. Steve Raymund, chairman and CEO of distributor Tech Data, Clearwater, Fla., usually isn&'t one to gush superlatives. But in Mulcahy&'s case, he credits her with “one of the most extraordinary turnarounds in history.”

Solution providers, too, are liking the new Xerox. Jeff Medeiros, president and CEO of rs-unix, San Francisco, says Mulcahy sees collaboration with the solution providers as a real opportunity and the company now solicits its partners&' opinions. “That exemplifies how people are going to get to the marketplace more effectively than just trying to go it alone,” he says.

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Despite her achievements, which included slashing billions in expenses, managing a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and restructuring a near-fatal $17 billion debt load during her four-year tenure, the former sales executive comes off, at times, as almost too humble with her “I-wasn&'t-trained-for-this” protests. Maybe hoarding cash wasn&'t rocket science, but preserving R&D spending while getting Xerox&'s insular management on the same page was a profile in leadership under fire.

Speaking to a group of Stanford University business students last December about the turnaround, Mulcahy, who earned a degree in English and journalism, referred to her role as being the company&'s chief communications officer. During her first 90 days, she spent much of her time listening to what various stakeholders had to say. “If you listen as much as you talk, it&'s time well spent,” she advised.

While she does take work seriously, keeping perspective and a sense of humor helped her through the tough times at Xerox, says Jim Firestone, a longtime colleague and president of Xerox North America. “Even though we&'re in serious situations with serious business opportunities, at the end of the day she doesn&'t take herself too seriously,” he says. “What&'s most important is keeping the bond among the people she works with so that they&'ll be motivated and excited to come to work the next day.”

The copier and printer maker&'s revenue was up just 1 percent to $3.76 billion in the third quarter while earnings were hit by litigation and other onetime charges. But hopefully, with Mulcahy now lending her ear to the channel, Xerox&'s bonds with partners, as well as its revenue and earnings, will start growing as well.

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