*NEWS*2 TOP XEROX EXEC’s PASS AWAY

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McColough, former top Xerox exec, dies at 84
Recalled as ‘giant in business,’ sales soared under his leadership C. Peter McColough, the executive who led Xerox Corp. through more than a decade of dramatic growth and sometimes turbulent change, was remembered Monday as a man who helped turn the company into an international giant.Mr. McColough, 84, died Wednesday in Rye Brook, Westchester County. The cause was cardiac arrest after a long illness, said his son, Andrew McColough.”I know I speak for the entire Xerox family when I say how deeply saddened we all are to hear of Peter’s passing,” said Anne M. Mulcahy, the current chairwoman and chief executive officer. “He led our company through a period of explosive growth and global expansion. Perhaps more importantly, he took the values of our founder and deeply embedded them in our culture.”He was a giant in business and politics, a citizen of the world and a deeply committed family man.”As the hand-picked successor of Xerox founder Joseph C. Wilson, Mr. McColough served as chief executive from 1968 until retiring in 1982. He took the title of chairman in 1971 after Wilson’s death.During Mr. McColough’s tenure as CEO, Xerox sales soared almost tenfold, from $896 million to more than $8.7 billion. The stock price peaked at more than $171 a share in 1973.He also moved corporate headquarters from Xerox’s Rochester birthplace to Stamford, Conn. The move brought the headquarters closer to the New York City financial community and saved money because of lower Connecticut taxes.He is credited with expanding Xerox’s sales force and global reach. He also saw the need for Xerox to adapt to the age of computers and change to battle competition from overseas manufacturers. One result of that vision: Xerox’s famed Palo Alto Research Center in California.Before ascending to the top spot in the company, he helped create the pricing strategy that made Xerox copiers marketable. His marketing team decided to lease the expensive machines and charge customers based on how much they copied.Charles Ellis, author of a recent biography of Wilson, interviewed Mr. McColough for the book. “He was a delightful person and fun to be with,” Ellis said.The author gave Mr. McColough credit for helping build Xerox’s sales team into an international force. However, Mr. McColough also faced many challenges that put pressure on Xerox. Competitors ate away at the company’s once-dominant market share, and many of the research center’s inventions ended up being popularized by other companies.A merger with Scientific Data Systems, designed to help bring Xerox into the digital age, lost more than $500 million for the company after the $1.5 billion acquisition.Mr. McColough was succeeded as CEO by David T. Kearns. In his 1992 book, Prophets in the Dark, Kearns called Mr. McColough a “broad thinker willing to take risks …. His talent was in getting others to think and do.”Charles Peter McColough was born Aug. 1, 1922, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He served as an airman with the British navy in World War II. He then received a law degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax and a master’s in business from Harvard University.He joined what was then Haloid Co. in 1954 and rose quickly through the ranks.Mr. McColough also became a prominent philanthropist, serving as chairman of the United Way of America. He held posts on a variety of other corporate boards.Mr. McColough served nearly two years as treasurer of the Democratic National Committee and actively worked in several presidential campaigns.Despite his hectic life, Mr. McColough was dedicated to his family, his son said. He was also open about the challenges and growth at Xerox, and dinnertime conversation often turned to business, Andrew McColough said.”We just had some incredible family experiences. He was very much a family man.”Often the family world and Mr. McColough’s public life intertwined. Andrew McColough remembers his father asking him to take Sen. Henry M. Jackson, D-Wash., to the airport after a Jackson presidential fundraiser at the McColough home.”Here I am, this 17-year-old kid with long hair, driving Scoop Jackson to LaGuardia in the Country Squire wagon.” Andrew McColough said. “Talk about dichotomy.”In addition to Andrew, Mr. McColough is survived by his wife of 53 years, Virginia; son Ian and daughter Virginia Keeshan; a sister, Patricia Wallace; and seven grandchildren. Two children, Peter Charles and Robert, preceded him in death.

David Curtin, ad executive at Xerox, is dead
Xerox Corp. lost another well-known executive last week.David Curtin, 85, the company’s longtime public relations director, died Thursday.Curtin worked at Xerox for 26 years, beginning in 1957 as assistant to the president. He was named public relations director in 1963 and retired in 1982 as vice president of corporate programs.Before joining Xerox, Curtin served as a news and sports broadcaster for several Rochester radio stations, which included doing play-by-play of Red Wings baseball games. He also worked in advertising for Genesee Brewing Co.He was a graduate of Aquinas Institute and the University of Notre Dame, and was a World War II veteran.When Curtin retired, then-Xerox President David T. Kearns said he “developed for Xerox one of the finest public images of any major corporation anywhere.”Survivors include his wife, Nancy, three sons, a daughter and a stepdaughter.

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December 26, 2006 at 4:02 PM