There’s no clear path to success, Xerox CEO Steve Bandrowczak told me. But whenever faced with an easy role or a difficult one, he always opted for the tougher job that would prove most beneficial to his career.
“If it was challenging, if it was hard, I always did it,” he said.
Take the salary cut. In 2005, Bandrowczak left his role as chief information officer at the logistics company DHL (No. 134 on the Fortune Global 500), overseeing a $4 billion IT budget and some 10,000 employees, to be CIO of the Beijing-headquartered Lenovo. At Lenovo, he presided over roughly 300 employees and a fraction of his former budget: $300 million.
Despite a drop in salary and manpower, the move to Lenovo allowed him to spearhead the company’s keenly watched acquisition of IBM’s PC business. “I knew what we were doing would be historic, creating the first global country out of China, based in China, And I learned so much culturally and about the people.” The role stretched him in a way that proved pivotal to his career, he said, adding, “I took a huge salary cut, but the experience I gained there was invaluable.
Take the lower-ranking role. After a two-year stint as Lenovo’s CIO, reporting to the CEO, he moved to the now-defunct Canadian telecommunications company Nortel. There, he accepted a sales leadership role that was two levels below his previous title.
“I accepted that role because I had never run a sales team before, and I knew it was important to gain that experience,” he said, stressing, “I always took jobs that filled and created more capabilities on my resume.”
In August 2022, he was appointed CEO of Xerox after four years as its COO.
Ruth Umoh
ruth.umoh@fortune.com
Today’s newsletter was curated by Natalie McCormick
Leadership lessons
Bandrowczak says people often ask him why they haven't been promoted after years in a role and receiving high performance marks.
His response: How have you made yourself more valuable?
“If you really want to be CEO, it’s not just about driving IT, for instance, or driving processes. What are the things you need to know about capital allocation, about the board, and about all the skills that are important to get to the corner seat, especially in an era of constant change and transformation?”
News to know
The Justice Department is suing RealPage, a real estate software development company, for allegedly conspiring to charge tenants higher rent. NYT
The sale of cybersecurity firm Darktrace is still slated for completion by the end of 2024, despite the death of founding investor Mike Lynch after his yacht sank off the coast of Sicily. Fortune
The Federal Reserve is prepared to start cutting rates from its 23-year high as inflation appears largely under control, said Chair Jerome Powell. Fortune
Food giant Nestlé gave its CEO of eight years just a 24-hour notice to resign. Nestlé South America CEO Laurent Freixe will replace him. WSJ
Smarter in seconds
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Body language. The nonverbal ways leaders unintentionally self-sabotage their communication
Soaring stocks. Cava CEO Brett Schulman talks strategy as food chain beats Q2 earnings
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