The Latest Challenge

Xerox technology chief is up to her latest challenge

Sophie Vandebroek overcomes obstacles in career, personal life

David Tyler - Staff Writer

(February 25, 2006) — On the back of the door of Sophie Vandebroek's office, in plain sight from her desk, is a sheet of paper with a Chinese proverb on it. The proverb notes that change and crisis can lead to danger — and opportunity. In the written Chinese characters, the two ideas are intertwined.

It's Vandebroek's favorite proverb and, in many ways, a good outlook for her latest challenge. In January the native of Belgium became Xerox Corp.'s chief technology officer and president of its Innovation Group. "If you really look hard enough, no matter what the crisis is, you'll find an opportunity," she said in a recent interview.

Taking over the reins of a 5,000-person organization charged with continuing Xerox's rich heritage of innovation may be a large challenge, but the 44-year-old Vandebroek's life so far has been full of them:

• She was one of 15 female students in a class of 500 at engineering school in Belgium.
• She left the familiarity of home to come to the United States and earn a doctorate at Cornell.
• For the last 10 years, Vandebroek has raised three children on her own after losing her husband, Bart, to complications from an asthma attack during a camping trip in the Adirondacks.

Instead of lamenting the challenges she faces, Vandebroek has treated each as an opportunity. Colleagues say that's not surprising; when Vandebroek puts her mind to something, she's rarely deterred. "She's a driven, type A personality," said Jacob Schanker, a past president of the Rochester chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Vandebroek is a member and a fellow. "Clearly she's ambitious, but beyond the ambition she puts talent."