Xerox (XRX) agreed to put Carl Icahn’s lieutenant on its board of directors, a move that will give the activist investors a hand in not just one company, but potentially two.
On Monday, Xerox agreed to place Icahn Partners managing director Jonathan Christodoro on its board. Christodoro was be on the board’s corporate governance committee and finance committee. The appointment also expanded the number of Xerox board positions to nine.
The news comes as Xerox prepares to split into two companies by the end of the year. Xerox will be in charge of handling document technology products such as printers and copiers, while the other company, Conduent, will be focused on corporate transactions and payments.
Icahn, which has been pushing the office equipment maker to changes after revealing a stake in the company November, also won the right to name three board members to the Conduent in January—meaning Icahn will have representatives in both companies.
Christodoro, 39, is a board member at several companies linked to Icahn, including Herbalife, PayPal and Lyft. Icahn is betting on the success of contentious nutritional supplements company Herbalife, and played a key role spinning PayPal off from eBay in November. In May, Icahn reportedly invested $100 million in ride-sharing company, Lyft. The Uber rival reportedly hired Qatalyst Partners, an investment banking firm, to help the startup find a buyer, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
According to Xerox spokesperson Sean Collins, Christodoro has “engaged extensively” with the company since Icahn Enterprises is Xerox’s majority shareholder.
In a separate regulatory filing Monday, Icahn revealed that he had slightly increased his stake in Xerox from 9.18% in January to 9.78%.
Shares of Xerox popped slightly on the news Tuesday, reaching nearly 2%.
