Changes in the corner office come a dime a dozen, especially during this time of economic turmoil, but there is one on the horizon that is a testament to how far our nation has come since the Civil Rights and Women's Rights movements.On Thursday, Anne Mulcahy, who earlier this decade spearheaded a multibillion-dollar turnaround at Xerox (XRX), announced that she would retire but would remain chairman of the board. Filling Mulcahy's spot is Ursula Burns, a Xerox veteran, who may soon become a household name.
Why? Burns is set to become the first African-American female CEO to lead a Fortune 500 company. The leadership change also marks the first time that the baton was passed directly to another female executive at a Fortune 500 firm.
Burns joined Xerox in 1980 as a mechanical engineering summer intern and climbed her way up the corporate ladder, with roles including product development and planning, heading up manufacturing and supply chain operations. In April 2007, Burns was named president of Xerox and will take over the CEO role in July.
Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteUrsala Burns is a product of nearly 30 years of work changing Xerox culture and practices thru the work of the Xerox Black Employees organization that we founded in 1971, this changed Xerox hiring practices ,recruiting, Mgmt Development,bonuses and pay structure. Ursala Burns is a shinning example of what hard work,and preparation can do for a person.Bernard Kinsey
ReplyDeleteits about time! After the terrible way they treated Barry Rand, Xerox got it's cumuppance, and hasn't been right since !
ReplyDeleteI hope She can do something positive for the folks still left there at Xerox. People forget that before Enron there was Xerox. Corperate greed by folks like PAUL ALLAIRE, & RICHARD THOMAN, almost ran this company into the ground and left folks like me without a retirement fund. (ref. SECURITIES FRAUD complaint ,Civil Action No. 03 CV 4087). PAUL ALLAIRE himself allegelly reaped over $5 million in gains, yet my buddy who just reitired from Xerox after 30 years, gets just enough from Xerox to pay his cell phone bill! We get screwed again.
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