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Ursula M. Burns (born September 20, 1958), is an American businesswoman. She is the chairman of VEON,[1] a senior advisor to Teneo,[2] and a non-executive director of the beverage company Diageo since April 2018, among other directorships[3] such as Uber.[4][5] In 2009, Burns became CEO of Xerox, the first black woman CEO to head a Fortune 500 company,[6] and the first woman to succeed another as head of a Fortune 500 company.[7][8] Burns served as Xerox CEO from 2009 to 2016 and Xerox chairwoman from 2010 to 2017.[9][10] In 2014, Forbes rated her the 22nd most powerful woman in the world.[11] Among other civic positions, she was a leader of the STEM program of the White House from 2009 to 2016, and head of the President's Export Council from 2015 until 2016.[12]
Burns was raised by a single mother in the Baruch Houses, a New York city housing project.[7] 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 Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute (now New York University Tandon School of Engineering) in 1980 and a master of science in mechanical engineering from Columbia University a year later.[13][14][15] She has since received additional honorary degrees from New York University,[16] Williams College,[17] the University of Pennsylvania,[18] Howard University,[19] Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,[20] The City College of New York,[21] Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT),[22] the University of Rochester,[23] Xavier University,[24] and Georgetown University.[25]
Burns first worked for Xerox as a summer intern in 1980, and permanently joined a year later after completing her master's degree. She worked in various roles in product development and planning at the company for the remainder of the 1980s.[26] 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 before returning home because she was about to be married.[27] In June 1991, she then became executive assistant to then chairman and chief executive Paul Allaire. In 1999, she was named vice president for global manufacturing.[26] In May 2000, Burns was named senior vice president of corporate strategic services and began working closely with soon-to-be CEO Anne Mulcahy, in what both women have described as a true partnership. Two years later, Burns became president of business group operations.[28]
In 2007, Burns assumed the role of president of Xerox.[28] In July 2009 she was named CEO, succeeding Mulcahy, who remained as chairman until May 2010.[26] The first black woman CEO to head a Fortune 500 company,[7] Burns was also the first woman to succeed another woman as head of a Fortune 500 company.[8] Shortly after being named CEO, Burns led the acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services.[2] In 2016, she led Xerox in a split into two independent companies:[3] Xerox Corporation and Conduent Incorporated.[2] She remained chairwoman and CEO of Xerox through the process, and was then appointed chairwoman of the standalone Document Technology company.[29] After stepping down from the position in December 2016, Burns was succeeded by Jeff Jacobson. She retained the title of chairwoman of the newly formed document technology company[3] until May 2017, when she left the Xerox board and her role as chairperson.[30]
U.S. President Barack Obama appointed Burns to help lead the White House National STEM program in 2009,[31][32] and she remained a leader of the STEM program until 2016.[12] In March 2010 President Obama appointed Burns as vice chair of the President's Export Council,[31][32] which she led from 2015 to 2016.[12] Burns has served on numerous boards, including Boston Scientific,[13] FIRST, National Association of Manufacturers, University of Rochester, the MIT Corporation, the Rochester Business Alliance, and the RUMP Group.[13] She remains a board director of the American Express Corporation,[31][33] Exxon Mobil Corporation,[34] Datto Inc.,[31][35] and Nestlé.[2] In July 2017, it was announced that she would join the board of the beverage company Diageo on April 2, 2018.[3] Also in July 2017, she was elected chairwoman of VEON[1] by the VEON board of directors.[36] She joined Teneo as a senior advisor in June 2017.[2] Burns joined the board of Uber in late September 2017.[5]
Burns 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.[31] 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).[31][37] She served as vice chairwoman of the executive committee of The Business Council between 2013 and 2014.[38][39] She has delivered the commencement address at universities including MIT,[40] University of Rochester,[41] Xavier University, Howard University,[42] Williams College,[43] and Georgetown University.[25]
Burns made headlines in 2009 when she became the first black woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company.[6] Burns has been exceptionally visible during her tenure, making frequent public appearances.
Burns pushed for the $6.4 billion acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services that closed in 2010.[44] Late in 2013, the company called the police prior to announcing 168 layoffs at its Cary, N.C., facility, noting they "were expecting trouble." It was the second round of a total of roughly 500 layoffs.[45]
Burns has been awarded an average of $13 million a year between 2010 and 2012. One former employee, commenting on Glassdoor, said, "Most upper management have received salary increase over the last 6 years, but staff has not."[46]
She has been listed multiple times by Forbes as one of the 100 most powerful women in the world. In 2015, she was listed as the 29th.[11]
Burns is married to Lloyd Bean, who also worked at Xerox, and they reside in Rochester, New York.[26] She has a daughter named Melissa (born c. 1992) and a stepson named Malcolm (born c. 1989) who attended MIT.[26][47] Burns has been a major donor to Our Lady of Mercy School for Young Women in New York.[48]