“Hervé Gallaire is vice president for research and
technology with Xerox Corporation. Gallaire, a senior vice
president and Xerox’s highest-ranking technologist, oversees a
budget of a billion dollars invested in seven engineering centers
worldwide, including the famous PARC. Join Gallaire and Cameron
Laird for this online interview — and feel free to ask questions
of your own! Interview runs January 23 to 25.”
“Hervé Gallaire has a tough job. His employer, Xerox
Corporation, is widely regarded as powerful, but rather flabby and
disappointingly unprofitable. His own budget, for the world-wide
Research segment, must look like a pure cost to those interested in
short-term results. In fact, Xerox has publicly emphasized during
the last year its intention to refocus Research and Technology and
derive more benefit from it. In October, Xerox announced a search
for innovative financial partnerships with outside companies which
would amount to selling pieces of the famous PARC (Palo Alto
Research Center) and perhaps other Research assets.”
“Xerox is a fully “digital” company in the year 2001; that’s
Research’s great accomplishment over the last couple of decades.
Dr. Gallaire, what difference will Xerox Research and Technology
make during your tenure? You’ve stressed “e-business-oriented
research” while continuing to fund futuristic MEMS, robotic, and
even social scientific projects. Is your job just to “run a tight
ship” or do you set a loftier standard for yourself?”