From all accounts, no matter who you talk to, CEOs don't come much better than Anne Mulcahy at Xerox (XRX). I can only assume this is because she started out wanting to be a journalist.

She's gotten tons of kudos, including Forbes naming her the 13th most powerful woman in the world. Now she'll get another plaque to hang on the wall. Chief Executive magazine named her CEO of the Year -- a particularly nice honor since it's based on a vote by her CEO peers. Once you get past the press-release-speak in the announcement, it's apparent that Mulcahy won because she turned around Xerox's business, never gave up on R&D, and seems to have a knack for motivating her people in a genuine, believable way.

I've interviewed Mulcahy at length a couple of times. Here's one exchange from a live, on-stage interview at the University of Chicago. It shows both her humility and her sense of humor about being, essentially, an accidental CEO.

Q: In 2000, the CEO, Rick Thoman, left. The chairman, Paul Allaire, calls you into his office.

A: Paul Allaire came back in as chairman, and he believed the company had to be led in a way that really brought the people with them. I was leaving for Tokyo and had my bags packed, and he called me in and said, "Here's the deal. Rick's out. I'm coming back in as CEO, and I want you to be president and COO of Xerox, and a year later, if things are right, you'll be CEO of Xerox." He said, "But we got a lot to do, and it's a big deal, and I just met with the board, and so you've got to make a decision."

And I asked him for one day. I felt this huge accountability for Xerox, but, personally, it was gonna change my life in ways that I was not prepared for. I was kind of on the back nine from my perspective, so it was going to be a major life change. I needed to discuss it with my family. The next day, I said yes.

Q: Did you see it coming at all?

A: I did not. The board probably sat back and said, "What choice do we have?" So I can't say it was a roaring endorsement. It probably was a little bit of a last resort.

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Kevin Maney

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