URSULA BURNS

Ursula M. Burns (born September 20, 1958) serves as Chairman and CEO of Xerox. She is the first African-American woman CEO to head a Fortune 500 company.[1] She is also the first woman to succeed another woman as head of a Fortune 500 company.[2] In 2009,Forbes rated her the 14th most powerful woman in the world Early life Burns was raised by a single mother in the Baruch Houses, a New York city housing project.[1] Both of her parents were Panamanian immigrants. She attended Cathedral High School, a Catholic all-girls school on East 56th Street in New York. She went on to obtain a bachelor of science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Polytechnic Institute of NYU in 1980 and a master of science in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University a year later.[4] Career at Xerox In 1980, Burns first worked for Xerox as a summer intern, permanently joining a year later, in 1981, after completing her master's degree. She worked in various roles in product development and planning in the remainder of the 1980s throughout her 20s.[5] In January 1990, her career took an unexpected turn when Wayland Hicks, then a senior executive, offered Burns a job as his executive assistant. She accepted and worked for him for roughly nine months when she was ready to go back home because she was about to be married to Lloyd Bean. [6] In June 1991, she became executive assistant to then chairman and chief executive Paul Allaire. In 1999, she was named vice president for global manufacturing. In 2000, Burns was named a senior vice president and began working closely with soon to be CEO Anne Mulcahy, in what both women have described as a true partnership.

Nine years later, in July 2009, she was named CEO, succeeding Mulcahy, who remained as chairwoman until May 2010.[5] Community activities Burns has served on numerous professional and community boards, including Exxon Mobil Corporation,[7] American Express, Boston Scientific, FIRST, National Association of Manufacturers, University of Rochester, the MIT Corporation, the Rochester Business Alliance, and the RUMP Group.[4] She will serve as Vice Chairwoman of the Executive Committee of The Business Council in 2013 and 2014. She was the Commencement speaker at MIT's 2011 Commencement, which was also the conclusion of MIT's 150th anniversary celebration.[10] She delivered the 2011 Commencement address at the University of Rochester.[11] She was the 2012 Commencement speaker for Xavier University of Louisiana's May 12 Commencement ceremony, where she also received an honorary degree, one of the institution's highest honors.[12] Personal life Burns married Lloyd Bean, who also worked at Xerox, [13] and she resides in Manhattan, New York. She has a daughter Melissa (born c. 1992) and a stepson Malcolm (born c. 1989) who attended MIT.[1][5]

Ursula Burns, CEO As I've progressed in my career, I've come to appreciate -- and really value -- the other attributes that define a company's success beyond the P&L: great leadership, long-term financial strength, ethical business practices, evolving business strategies, sound governance, powerful brands, values-based decision-making. Chairman and CEO - Ursula Burns,

Ursula M. Burns is chairman and chief executive officer of Xerox. With sales approaching $23 billion, Xerox (NYSE: XRX) is the worlds leading enterprise forbusiness process and document management.

When Burns joined Xerox in 1980 as a mechanical engineering summer intern, the company was the leader in the global photocopying market. As she later assumed roles in product development and planning, the company was securing its leadership position in digital document technologies. From 1992 through 2000, Burns, at a pivotal point in the companys history, led several business teams including the companys color business and office network printing business.

In 2000, Burns was named senior vice president, Corporate Strategic Services, heading up manufacturing and supply chain operations. Alongside then-CEO Anne Mulcahy, Burns worked to restructure Xerox through its turnaround to emerge as a leader in color technology and document services. A key factor in the companys turnaround was its research and development of new products and technologies, and at the time Burns was responsible for leading Xerox's global research as well as product development, marketing and delivery. In April 2007, Burns was named president of Xerox, expanding her leadership to also include the company's IT organization, corporate strategy, human resources, corporate marketing and global accounts. At that time, she was also elected a member of the companys Board of Directors.

Burns was named chief executive officer in July 2009 and shortly after, made the largest acquisition in Xerox history, the $6.4 billion purchase of Affiliated Computer Services, catapulting the companys presence in the $500 billion business services market and extending the companys reach into diverse areas of business process and IT outsourcing.

On May 20, 2010, Burns became chairman of the company, leading the 140,000 people of Xerox who serve clients in more than 160 countries. Building on Xeroxs legacy of innovation, theyre enabling workplaces from small businesses to large global enterprises -- to simplify the way work gets done so they can focus more on what matters most: their real business.

Burns earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Polytechnic Institute of NYU and a master of science degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University.

In addition to the Xerox board, she is a board director of the American Express Corporation and Exxon Mobil Corporation. Burns also provides leadership counsel to community, educational and non-profit organizations including FIRST - (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), National Academy Foundation, MIT, and the U.S. Olympic Committee, among others. She is a founding board director of Change the Equation, which focuses on improving the U.S.s education system in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). In March 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama appointed Burns vice chair of the Presidents Export Council.

Ursula Burns in the News

Business Today, The personality of Xerox is not gender-based, but it is one that enables women, 29 Sept. 2013 Issue Q&A with Ursula Burns in which she discusses Xerox's transformation to a products and services company and her personal journey. The Economic Times of India, Consistency around India is a challenge: Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox, 30 August 2013 Interview with Ursula Burns during her three-day trip to India, where she held three town hall meetings and met several CEOs of technology firms in Bangalore. PrintWeek India, Ursula Burns inaugurates facilities at Xerox research centre in Bengaluru, 30 August 2013 Financial Post, Taking the Xerox business model out of its box, 19 August 2013 Q&A interview about the rationale and genesis behind Xeroxs service push, where Xerox is making strategic investments and how the company will identify the people and processes to make the shift work. Huffington Post, 9 amazingly successful women who started out as assistants, 13 August 2013 Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Xerox's Ursula Burns on her career path and changing company strategy, 8 August 2013

MadameNoir, Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox, sees the vast possibilities for all women with STEM goals, 18 June 2013 Ursula Burns: A Leader Making History

We were excited to learn that the theme of this years Black History Month is to explore black womens contributions to America. History has given us some incredible stories of courage, strength and leadership from African-American women, including pioneers for freedom and equality: Harriet Tubman, the leader of the Underground Railroad; Sojourner Truth, who spread the word of equality; and Rosa Parks, the mother of the modern Civil Rights Movement, to name just a few. The paths that these women paved have certainly played a critical role in helping to create a new generation of black women leaders, women who have distinguished themselves in all areas of industry, and who are making history today. One such Woman You Should Know is Ursula Burns, rated by Forbes in 2009 as the 14th most powerful woman in the world.

Ms. Burns is the chairman and chief executive officer of Xerox Corporation, the first black woman to be named CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and the mother of two. Here is her extraordinary story. Born Sept. 20, 1958, Ursula Burns grew up in a low-income housing community on Delancey Street, in New York City. She was the middle child of three with a single mother who worked several jobs to be able to send Ursula and her siblings to Catholic school. It was important to her mother to be able to provide her children with a good education in a safe environment, and was dedicated to making it happen for them. It was at school, that Ms. Burns discovered her incredible aptitude for math. Armed with her wizardry for numbers, Ms. Burns charted her path up and out of the projects. She headed to Polytechnic Institute of NYU where she chose a road less taken by most women of her generation, and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. She continued to defy the teachers who had been directing her toward a more traditional career in nursing or teaching, and entered a graduate program in mechanical engineering at Columbia University. The program at Columbia was specifically created for minority students, and tuition was partially paid for by the Xerox Corporation. As part of the graduate program, Ms. Burns took a summer intern position with Xerox, and when she graduated with her degree in 1981, she joined the company full time.

Known for her tenacity and incomparable work ethic, it wasnt much of a surprise that Ms. Burns quickly made her way through the ranks at Xerox overseeing several areas of the company engineering, manufacturing, product development, and marketing along the way. But, there were the naysayers who felt her quick rise through the company was a result ofaffirmative action. In true no-nonsense form, Ms. Burns responded to these claims in an interview with Black Enterprise magazine in 1997, The fact that I did it faster than others has nothing to do with my race and gender. It was my performance. It was with this confidence that led Ms. Burns to several high-level positions before becoming Corporate Vice President in 1999, and then Senior Vice President of Strategic Services in 2000. Her climb up the corporate ladder continued when she added President of the Document Systems Solutions Group to her already extensive list of job titles in 2001. In April 2007, Ms. Burns was named president of Xerox, expanding her leadership role to also include the companys IT organization, corporate strategy, human resources, corporate marketing and global accounts. At that time, she was also elected a member of the companys Board of

Directors. She was named Chief Executive Officer in July 2009 and took on the role of chairman of the company on May 20, 2010.

But, it isnt all about business for Ms. Burns, she is also a philanthropist and advocate. Through programs such as President Obamas Change the Equation initiative, shes encouraging more young women and minorities to pursue careers in math and science. She also provides leadership counsel to community, educational Inspiration and and non-profit of organizations Science and

including FIRST (For

Recognition

Technology), National Academy Foundation, MIT, University of Rochester, and the U.S. Olympic Committee, among others. In November of 2009 Ms. Burns was named by President Barack Obama to help lead the White House national program on STEM (science,

technology, engineering and math) and was appointed vice chair of the Presidents Export Council in March 2010. Ms. Burns attributes much of her success to her mother, My mother would always remind me: Where you are is not who you are. I grew up in a poor neighborhood in New York City. My mother saw education as the way up and out for her children. It didnt take long for me to see the wisdom in her beliefs.

Ursula Burns has made history, but more importantly she has made a difference. It is this that makes her a Woman You Should Know. Career Achievements Having launched her career at Xerox by working from the bottom up, Ursula is especially thankful for her mechanical engineering internship at Xerox, which paved the way. We have a great intern program, and many of our interns end up with full-time positions at Xerox, just like I did, she says.

After her summer internship in 1980, Ursula later assumed roles in product development and planning. From 1992 through 2000, she led several business teams including the office color and fax business and office network printing business. In 2000, she was named senior vice president, Corporate Strategic Services, heading up manufacturing and supply chain operations. She then took on the broader role of leading Xerox's global research as well as product development, marketing and delivery.

In April 2007, Ursula was named president of Xerox, expanding her leadership to also include the company's IT organization, corporate strategy, human resources, corporate marketing and global accounts. At

that time, she was also elected a member of the company's Board of Directors.

Today, as CEO of Xerox, Ursula sees a lot of opportunity for young professionals. The number of jobs in the U.S. economy that require science and engineering will grow, but the number of people prepared to fill these jobs is shrinking, she states. America will need to draw not from half of the population but from the entire population. So, bottom line: We need more people to pursue engineering careers, especially women and minorities because our companies are better when we build engineering communities that are diverse. That's how we get closer alignment with the diverse set of customers we serve around the world. Those who enjoy the challenges of science and math --- and are good at it --- will be able to find academic and job opportunities that can lead to rewarding career paths.

The Future With all of her success, Ursula is hesitant to say shes achieved all of her goals. I take each day one step at a time, she says. Im certainly proud of where I am, but I have much more to do to provide value for our company, our people, our customers and our shareholders. Publishers Note: Weve had the opportunity to publish many profiles of industry leaders, but this is one of our favorites. Ursula Burns is a great role model for achievement regardless of circumstances, background, color or gender.