A severance lawsuit brought by Robert Zapfel, a former Xerox executive, claims he was strategically forced out of the company by activist investor Carl Icahn.
Icahn invests in undervalued or mismanaged companies with the goal of securing enough board seats to eventually take a controlling position and enact changes to increase profits. He currently has an estimated net worth of $24.7 billion.
Zapfel’s complaint, filed on Feb. 1 in a New York state court, refers to Icahn’s behavior as the “Icahn Strategy.” Icahn began buying Xerox shares in 2015, one year after Zapfel was hired as president of Xerox Services and CEO of Xerox Business Services, subdivisions of the company. As Icahn began securing board seats and publicizing his desire for a change in leadership, Zapfel was forced to resign as CEO and his business responsibilities were reduced by a third, according to court records. By beginning of 2017, Zapfel was terminated alongside a number of other Xerox executives. more here