Paul Allaire has been elected chief executive...

Paul Allaire has been elected chief executive of Xerox Corp. effective Aug. 1. He succeeds David Kearns, who will continue as chairman and chairman of the company’s executive committee. Allaire, 51, has been president of Xerox and head of its business products and systems organization since 1986. Melvin Howard, 55, vice chairman and head of Xerox Financial Services Inc., has decided to take early retirement, effective May 1. Xerox, based in Stamford, Conn., said Howard will not stand for re-election to the company’s board. Stuart Ross, senior vice president and chief financial officer, will become an executive vice president and chairman and chief executive of Xerox Financial Services.