14 DAY TRIAL // Xerox made it official today that its executive vice president and chief financial officer was leaving the company to start work at Apple Inc. Luca Maestri will take up his job as “corporate controller” with the Cupertino giant in February.
Ursula Burns, Xerox chairman and chief executive officer, said that the company had already kicked off recruiting for a potential new CFO, adding that Maestri would stick around by the end of February to help with the transition.
Xerox is still on track to meet its financial estimates for the fourth fiscal quarter, Burns added. The company plans to disclose its fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 earnings on January 24.
Regarding Maestri’s departure, Burns also said, “Luca is a stellar finance executive whose contributions have brought great value to the transformation of Xerox into a services enterprise.”
According to the Xerox CEO, Maestri helped strengthen the company’s financial foundation, “which will serve his successor, our company and our shareholders well for the long term.”
Maestri himself released a statement regarding his move from Xerox to Apple. We didn’t dare hope he’d disclose any details about his upcoming tenure with the Cupertino giant.
Maestri said, “I came to Xerox with a strong belief in its strategic direction and I leave with even greater confidence in the company's rich opportunity as a leader in outsourcing services and document technology.”
Maestri added, “It's been an incredible learning experience to be part of this major business shift for such a respected brand. I'm proud of our progress, and I know Xerox is on very firm footing for sustainable success."
For those asking what the actual job description of a corporate controller is, this person is responsible for direct supervision of all accounting and financial functions.
Maestri’s main responsibilities within Apple will probably include supervision of the monthly close process, quarterly and annual billings to clients for services provided, collection of accounts receivable, monthly preparation of a reforecast, annual preparation of a budget, etc.