Xerox names John Visentin as CEO after scrapping Fujifilm deal

(Reuters) - Xerox Corp has appointed John Visentin as chief executive officer and set July 31 for its annual shareholders meeting, the U.S. photocopier maker said on Wednesday.

Visentin was also elected vice chairman of the board with Keith Cozza elected as chairman, Xerox said in a statement.

Visentin replaces CEO Jeff Jacobson, the main architect of a proposed $6.1 billion deal with Fujifilm Holdings Corp which was scrapped this week in a settlement with activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason that handed control of the U.S. company to new management.

Five other directors would step down as well under the settlement.

In January, Xerox and Fujifilm had agreed to the complex deal to merge Xerox into their Asia joint venture Fuji Xerox and give Fujifilm control.

Icahn and Deason, who own a combined 15 percent of Xerox, had launched a proxy fight arguing that the deal undervalued the U.S. company.

Visentin, who had also been under consideration by the old board to replace Jacobson as recently as last year, had been hired by Icahn to assist in his campaign against Xerox.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang)