Charles Peter Philip Paul McColough (August 1 1922 – December 13 2006) was the joint creater and owner of the Xerox Corporation (along with Joseph C. Wilson), and was a former
Chief Executive OfficerA chief executive officer or chief executive is one of the highest-ranking corporate officers or administrators in charge of total management...
and
Chairman of the BoardThe chairman is the highest office of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
at
XeroxXerox Corporation is a fortune 500 global document management company which manufactures and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
. He retired in the late 1980s, after serving over 25 years as CEO. Aside from building
XeroxXerox Corporation is a fortune 500 global document management company which manufactures and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
to the corporate empire it is today, McColough was
treasurerA treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization.-Government:The Treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The Treasurer is generally the head of the Treasury, although, in some countries A treasurer is the...
of the
Democratic National CommitteeThe Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
between 1974 and 1976, Chairman of United Way of America, and served on the Board of Trustees at
New York Stock ExchangeThe New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in lower Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. It is the largest stock exchange in the world by United States dollar value of its listed companies' securities...
,
Bank of New YorkThe Bank of New York, abbreviated BoNY or BNY, was a global financial services company that existed until its merger with the Mellon Financial Corporation on July 2, 2007. The bank now continues under the new name of The Bank of New York Mellon.-History:The Bank of New York was founded on June 9,...
,
WachoviaWachovia, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a diversified, wholly owned financial services subsidiary of Wells Fargo. As an independent company, it was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States based on total assets. Wachovia, being one of the oldest banks we know about...
,
CitibankCitibank is a major international bank, founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York. Citibank is now the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup, one of the largest companies in the world...
, and Union Carbide Corporation.
Charles Peter Philip Paul McColough (August 1 1922 – December 13 2006) was the joint creater and owner of the Xerox Corporation (along with Joseph C. Wilson), and was a former
Chief Executive OfficerA chief executive officer or chief executive is one of the highest-ranking corporate officers or administrators in charge of total management...
and
Chairman of the BoardThe chairman is the highest office of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
at
XeroxXerox Corporation is a fortune 500 global document management company which manufactures and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
. He retired in the late 1980s, after serving over 25 years as CEO. Aside from building
XeroxXerox Corporation is a fortune 500 global document management company which manufactures and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
to the corporate empire it is today, McColough was
treasurerA treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization.-Government:The Treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The Treasurer is generally the head of the Treasury, although, in some countries A treasurer is the...
of the
Democratic National CommitteeThe Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
between 1974 and 1976, Chairman of United Way of America, and served on the Board of Trustees at
New York Stock ExchangeThe New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in lower Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. It is the largest stock exchange in the world by United States dollar value of its listed companies' securities...
,
Bank of New YorkThe Bank of New York, abbreviated BoNY or BNY, was a global financial services company that existed until its merger with the Mellon Financial Corporation on July 2, 2007. The bank now continues under the new name of The Bank of New York Mellon.-History:The Bank of New York was founded on June 9,...
,
WachoviaWachovia, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a diversified, wholly owned financial services subsidiary of Wells Fargo. As an independent company, it was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States based on total assets. Wachovia, being one of the oldest banks we know about...
,
CitibankCitibank is a major international bank, founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York. Citibank is now the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup, one of the largest companies in the world...
, and Union Carbide Corporation. Included also in his work are the funding of the C. Peter McColough Roundtable Series on International Economics, part of the
Council on Foreign RelationsThe Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit and nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to improving the understanding of U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
.
He resided with his wife Mary Virginia White McColough in
Greenwich, ConnecticutGreenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 61,101. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies that have left Manhattan. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in...
, and
Palm Beach, FloridaThe Town of Palm Beach is an affluent incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
.
Family
C. Peter McColough was born on August 1, 1922, in
HalifaxThe City of Halifax was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County, and was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
,
Nova ScotiaNova Scotia is a Canadian province located on Canada's southeastern coast. It is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. Its capital, Halifax, is a major economic centre of the region. Nova Scotia is the second-smallest province in Canada with an area of...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the son of the late Dr and Mrs Reginald Walker McColough. Dr McColough was a Director of Public Works for the
Parliament of CanadaThe Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch represented by her Governor General the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
, and was responsible for the modernization and development of
Cape Breton IslandCape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the French word "Breton", referring to Brittany.Cape Breton Island is part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada...
in northern
Nova ScotiaNova Scotia is a Canadian province located on Canada's southeastern coast. It is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. Its capital, Halifax, is a major economic centre of the region. Nova Scotia is the second-smallest province in Canada with an area of...
. His family descended from
Godfrey McCullochSir Godfrey McCulloch, 2nd Baronet was a Scottish baronet and politician who was executed for murder. In 1678 he served as a representative in the Convention of Estates...
of
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Sir Walter Scott. After attendance at Halifax private schools, McColough enrolled at Osgoode Law School in Toronto. He then attended
Dalhousie UniversityDalhousie University is a university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. As the largest post-secondary educational institution in the Maritime Provinces it offers a wide array of programs, including a medical program and the Dalhousie Law School. The chancellor is Mr. Fred Fountain; Dr...
, where he received an honorary degree later in life. After Dalhousie, McColough studied at the
Harvard Business SchoolHarvard Business School is a graduate business school in Boston, Massachusetts. The school offers a full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, as well as many . The School owns Harvard Business School Publishing, which publishes business books, online management tools for corporate learning, case...
after briefly serving in the British Navy in World War Two, and graduated in 1949. He became a US citizen in 1956.
While living and working in
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth-most-populous city in the United States.In 2008, the population of the city proper was estimated to be over 1.4 million, while the metropolitan area's population of 5.8 million made it the country's fifth-largest...
, McColough met and married socialite Mary Virginia White, daughter of James J. White, CEO of J.J. White and Company, one of the largest family-owned business in
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
that is still in operation today. They had five children: Peter McColough (died 1987), Andrew McColough, twins Ian McColough and Virginia McColough Keeshan, and Robert McColough (died 1999). The family lived in
Rochester, New YorkRochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. The Rochester metropolitan area is the second largest economy in New York State, behind the New York City metropolitan area. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and...
until he moved the Xerox Headquarters to
Stamford, ConnecticutStamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to 2007 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 118,475, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England Stamford is part of the New York metropolitan area.-Sister...
, and resided in the nearby suburb of
Greenwich, ConnecticutGreenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 61,101. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies that have left Manhattan. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in...
. McColough additionally had seven grandchildren: Alexander McColough, Charles McColough, Austin McColough, Peter McColough, Caroline Keeshan, Paul Keeshan, and Katherine McColough.
Career
McColough worked initially for Lehigh Navigation Coal Sales Company in the USA before making the switch in 1954 to Xerox, then a little known manufacturer of industrial photocopiers and still known as the Haloid Company. Five years after that career move, his new firm introduced its first office photocopier. As one of the first companies to step into the lucrative arena and potential growth market, Xerox's annual revenues soared from $40 million in 1960 to almost $3 billion in the early 1970s.
After taking over the presidency of the firm in 1966, McColough significantly changed and altered the direction and goals of Xerox Corporation. By 1979, McColough had built up Xerox revenues to $7 billion a year and its annual earnings to $563 million.
The company's chief scientist told Forbes Magazine in 1980 that "in the late 1960s, Peter McColough redefined our company."
From 1970 through to the mid-1980s he has held several directorships and in 1970, was honoured by his former alma mater,
Dalhousie UniversityDalhousie University is a university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. As the largest post-secondary educational institution in the Maritime Provinces it offers a wide array of programs, including a medical program and the Dalhousie Law School. The chancellor is Mr. Fred Fountain; Dr...
, with an Honorary Doctorate.
Assessments
The consensus of various business and economic journalists is that McColough as CEO was a restless, energetic but amiable man who had little time for memos, letters and meetings that normally make up the routine of daily corporate life. McColough worked himself from an executive salesperson of Haloid to a multi-millionaire Chairman and CEO of Xerox.
McColough's philosophy was always one of strong leadership by example. He explained once to Business Week that "a company is made not only by the quality of its products and services, but also by its people, especially its top people," and in doing so revealed the key to his remarkable business career.
On May 2, 1968, McColough and another Xerox executive sent out a memo announcing the company intended to start an affirmative action program, making Xerox one of the first companies to do so. McColough and Xerox have been both praised and criticized for it.
McColough started the PARC (Palo Alto Research Center), meant to operate something like AT&T's Bell Labs. PARC researchers developed pioneering commercial products in the field of personal computers—such as the Alto personal computer, GUI (graphical user interface), the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, the first commercial mouse, Ethernet network architecture, OOP (object-oriented programming), PDL (Page Description Language), Internet protocols, and laser printing. But McColough and Xerox have been criticized for failing to take advantage of the opportunities PARC provided.
"In spite of being a veritable cradle of innovation during the formative years of personal computing and the Internet, PARC rarely convinced Xerox to take its ideas from laboratory prototypes to commercially successful products," stated an article about PARC at the "Smart Computing in Plain English" Web site. "Many of the products were taken up successfully by other companies."
Further reading
- Fumbling the Future: How Xerox Invented, Then Ignored, the First Personal Computer by Douglas K. Smith and Robert C. Alexander; 274 pages; William Morrow & Co (September 1988) ISBN 0-688-06959-2
External links