Born circa 1959,[1] Jeff Jacobson grew up in Brooklyn, New York City, The Bronx, and Yonkers. He graduated from the State University of New York Buffalo in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree.[9] He then earned a master's degree from the Cornell University School of Industrial Relations,[8] followed by a juris doctor degree from Pace University School of Law. Jacobson is a member of the New York State Bar Association and the New Jersey State Bar Association.[8] From 1998 to 2005, Jacobson held executive positions at Kodak Polychrome Graphics,[1] a joint venture between Kodak and Sun Chemical.[8] Starting in human resources,[9] he then served as the company's CEO,[8] where according to the Rochester Business Journal he led a "turnaround" resulting in the sale of the company to Kodak,[10] where he then served as chief operating officer of Kodak's[1] $3.6 billion Graphic Communications Group.[8] From 2007 until 2012 he was president and CEO of Presstek,[1] a manufacturer of digital offset printing products,[8] also serving as chairman for three years.[3]
In February 2012, Jacobson joined Xerox as president of Global Graphic Communications Operations,[11] working out of Xerox's headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut. In 2014 he became the president[8] and chief operating officer of Xerox Technology.[11] On June 23, 2016, he was announced as the future CEO of Xerox, succeeding Ursula Burns.[1] He became Xerox CEO on January 1, 2017,[6] also joining the board.[3] He announced a number of changes at Xerox in 2017, including its largest product launch,[12] as well as a new focus on "small and midsize" companies to "cut dependence on its large enterprise customers," with the latter seen by analysts as a declining market.[13] Also overseeing job cuts[14] and an effort to achieve "$1.5 billion in improved operational efficiencies,"[15] he described Xerox as "pursuing R&D" in areas such as content management, graphic communications, printed electronics, smart labels, and "direct-to-object" printing techniques.[12] In June 2017, he was a signatory on the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion initiative.[16] On May 1, 2018, Xerox announced that under a deal with dissident investor Carl Icahn, Jacobson would resign as chief executive and director.[17] Three days later, the company announced that the deal would not go into effect,[18] although on May 16, 2018, he was indeed succeeded by John Visentin.[19] Jacobson was then appointed executive chairman of Electronics for Imaging (EFI), a technology company headquartered in Fremont, California, in July 2019. He also became an executive partner at Siris Capital, EFI's owner,[4] and on August 13, 2019, he was appointed EFI's new chief executive officer.[20] In January 2023, Jacobson was succeeded as EFI CEO by Frank Pennisi, with Jacobson continuing to serve as EFI chairman. Jacobson also became executive chairman of Fiery, a new EFI spinoff company.[2] The University at Buffalo School of Management awarded him its Centennial Achievement and Impact Award in Sept. 2023.[21]