Ursula M. Burns

1958—

Corporate executive

Starting at Xerox Corporation as an engineering intern, Ursula M. Burns climbed the corporate ladder to become the first woman president of Business Group Operations (BGO), Xerox's largest unit. Burns and Xerox chief executive officer (CEO) Anne Mulcahy steered the company from near-bankruptcy to financial stability.

Studied Engineering

Ursula M. Burns was born on September 20, 1958, in New York City. She was the middle child of three raised by their single mother Olga in the low-income projects of Manhattan's Delancey Street. Her mother took in ironing and ran a home-based daycare to enable her children to attend private Catholic schools. Burns told Claudia Deutsch of the New York Times: "She felt it was the only way to get us good educations, and keep us safe." An excellent mathematics student, Burns earned her bachelor's degree from the Polytechnic Institute of New York in 1980. She wanted a well-paying career. Through a graduate engineering program for minorities, Xerox helped pay the tuition for her master's degree program in mechanical engineering at Columbia University. The program included a summer internship with the company.

From 1981 on Burns held several engineering positions at Xerox, in the areas of product planning and development. By 1987 she had entered management, heading up various engineering teams. However Burns was convinced that she would never rise to the highest managerial levels as an engineer. In 1990 she became executive assistant to the vice president of marketing and customer operations. The following year she was named executive assistant to Xerox chairman and CEO Paul A. Allaire. About 40 percent of her time was spent traveling with Allaire in the United States and abroad. In August of 1997 Burns told Cassandra Hayes of Black Enterprise that these positions provided her with "16 years of education in a year."

There was no doubt within the company that Burns was an extraordinarily intelligent and savvy woman. David A. Nadler, a Xerox consultant, told Deutsch: "Even in her 30's, she was a smart, unconventional thinker who'd embrace new ideas even while older executives at the table were rejecting them."

Climbed the Corporate Ladder

Between 1992 and 1997 Burns headed several Xerox business units. She spent two years in London as vice president and general manager of the Workgroup Copier Business. By 1997 she was back in Connecticut as vice president and general manager of the $3 billion Departmental Copier Business, overseeing the design, development, manufacturing, sales, and service of workgroup digital and light-lens copiers. That year she was named a corporate vice president. Some people grumbled as this young black woman was rapidly promoted to upper executive positions. Burns told Hayes in February of 1998: "When I first entered the organization, I was viewed as a novelty and drew a lot of attention without even trying. But the awe that people have over my achievements translates either into ‘I'm super brilliant’ or ‘I must have floated through.’ I can't just be a regular employee, and that is an insult. Being a black woman is who I am and I can't control that. But being the youngest person to pass through all the gates is what I did have control over. The fact that I did it faster than others has nothing to do with my race and gender. It was my performance."

In May of 2000 Burns was named senior vice president for Corporate Strategic Services in the Worldwide Business Services group, in charge of the company's worldwide manufacturing, integrated supply chain, and environment, health, and safety operations. In 2001 she became president of the Document Systems and Solutions Group, Xerox's largest global enterprise, generating as much as 40 percent of the company's revenues.

Burns became BGO president in December of 2002, with responsibility for more than 80 percent of the company's sales, about $14 billion annually, as well as some 14,000 employees worldwide. Burns oversaw six major business groups: production, office, information management, the Xerox Innovation Group, the Xerox Engineering Center, and paper, supplies, and supply-chain operations.

Helped Turn Xerox Around

Xerox was nearly bankrupt in 2002 and accounting irregularities had led to a $10 million fine for fraud. While Mulcahy reassured employees and stockholders and formulated a plan to save the company, Burns began implementing their plans for a major restructuring. At home, recovering from an emergency hysterectomy, she negotiated a contract with the company's unionized workers in Rochester, New York. Meanwhile she looked for ways to outsource their jobs. By convincing Xerox to outsource the manufacture of many of its products, Burns reportedly saved the company $2 billion in 2003. In a February 2006 Fortune magazine profile, Mulcahy called Burns "the ultimate straight-shooter." Burns led the company's rebound in the field of digital copiers and printers, introducing 21 new products and cutting prices on many older products. She told Deutsch in 2003: "Essentially, I'm the Ms. Inside for the operational side of the business." However by then Burns was becoming more of a public figure, talking to the media, investors, and customers and serving on numerous corporate and nonprofit boards. Mulcahy told Deutsch: "Ursula is articulate, she has deep knowledge, she's credible—and, yes, we are developing her externally."

At a Glance …

Born Ursula M. Burns on September 20, 1958, in New York City; married Lloyd F. Bean, 1988; children: Malcolm, Melissa. Education: Polytechnic Institute of New York, BS, engineering, 1980; Columbia University, MS, mechanical engineering, 1981.

Career:

Xerox Corporation, Stamford, CT, summer intern, 1980, various engineering positions in planning and product development, 1981-90, executive assistant to vice president of marketing and customer operations, 1990-91, executive assistant to chairman and CEO, 1991-92, vice president and general manager of various business units, 1992-95, London, UK, vice president and general manager of Workgroup Copier Business, 1995-97, Stamford, CT, vice president and general manager of departmental copier business, 1997-00, vice president for Worldwide Business Services, 1999, senior vice president of Corporate Strategic Services, 2000, senior corporate vice president, 2000-, president of Document Systems Solutions Group, 2001-02, president of Business Group Operations, 2002-2007; president, Xerox Corporation, 2007-.

Selected memberships:

Boards of Directors: American Express; FIRST - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology; National Association of Manufacturers; National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University; University of Rochester.

Selected awards:

Rochester Business Alliance Women's Council, Athena Award; Time/CNN Annual List of Global Business Influentials, 2003; U.S. Black Engineering & Information Technology, 50 Most Important Blacks in Technology, 2003-05; Fortune, 50 Most Powerful Women in American Business, 2003-06; Black Enterprise, 75 Most Powerful African-Americans in Corporate America, 2005, 50 Most Powerful Black Women in Business, 2006.

Addresses:

Office—Xerox Corporation, 800 Long Ridge Road, Stamford, CT 06904.

Burns began dating Lloyd F. Bean, a Xerox scientist, in 1981. They married in 1988 and Bean retired in 2001. In the meantime Xerox provided financial support for the couple to maintain two households. In 1992 Burns told Joan Harrell Carter of Black Enterprise: "I see my husband two, maybe three times a month. We've been married for three years, but we've only had the same home base for one year. He lives in our official home in Rochester, and I live in a town-house in Stamford." Despite her rapid corporate ascent, with the advent of their children Burns insisted that her weekends remain free. She told Carol Hymowitz of the Wall Street Journal in 2006: "We have to let go of external expectations of what it means to be a successful mother, wife and business person, and each define that for ourselves. No one will die if you don't show up at every business meeting or every school play." She told Gail Sheehy of Glamour in 2006: "I wasn't home almost all last week, but Tuesday night I had to be there for my son's volleyball game; he told me this was a big deal…on Saturday night when we were sitting around, everyone was happy, because I'd covered the things that were really important."

As of 2007 some viewed Burns as a potential successor to Mulcahy. However Burns had her critics. Some accused her of both micromanaging and under-managing. Others criticized her listening skills and said she sometimes moved too quickly. However Mulcahy told the New York Times, "Every weakness is one she can easily fix." Burns lacked no confidence in herself. Burns told Deutsch, "My perspective comes in part from being a New York black lady, in part from being an engineer. I know that I'm smart and have opinions that are worth being heard." Her confident outlook continued to work in her favor; in April 2007, it was announced that Burns would lead Xerox as president. Whether or not Burns chooses to lead Xerox in the future as CEO, it is clear that her leadership abilities are recognized by her organization and respected throughout the business world.

Sources

Books

International Directory of Business Biographies, St. James Press, 2005.

Periodicals

Black Enterprise, February 1992, pp. 246-249; August 1997, p. 62; February 1998, pp. 107-111.

Ebony, September 2003; March 2004, pp. 44-48.

Fortune, February 6, 2006, p. 54.

Glamour, September 2006, p. 272.

Jet, July 7, 2003, p. 31.

New York Times, June 1, 2003, p. 3.2.

Time, December 1, 2003, p. 78.

Wall Street Journal, November 20, 2006, p. B.1.

On-line

"Executive Biographies: Ursula M. Burns," Xerox Newsroom, www.xerox.com/go/xrx/template/inv_rel_newsroom.jsp?ed_name=Ursula_Burns&app=Newsroom&format=biography&view=ExecutiveBiography&Xcntry=USA&Xlang=en_US (February 15, 2007).

"Xerox Turns To Burns For Growth," Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/business/businesstech/2007/04/04/xerox-burns-faces-markets-equity-cx_rs_0404autfacescan01.html (April 5, 2007).

                                                     —Margaret Alic