Celebrating Ursula Burns: The First Black Female CEO of a Fortune 500 Company

In 2009, when she was appointed the Chief Executive Officer of the Xerox Corporation, Ursula Burns shattered the glass ceiling and made headlines. But the media missed the real story, she insists. “It should have been ‘how did this happen? How did Xerox Corporation produce the first African American woman CEO?’ Not this spectacular story titled, “Oh, my God, a Black woman making it.”

In this smart, no-nonsense book, part memoir and part cultural critique, Burns writes movingly about her journey from tenement housing on Manhattan’s Lower East Side to the highest echelons of the corporate world. She credits her success to her poor single Panamanian mother, Olga Racquel Burns—a licensed child-care provider whose highest annual income was $4,400—who set no limits on what her children could achieve. Ursula recounts her own dedication to education and hard work, and how she took advantage of the opportunities and social programs created by the Civil Rights and Women’s movements to pursue engineering at Polytechnic Institute of New York.

Ursula Burns is a trailblazer. In 2009, she became the first Black female CEO of a Fortune 500 company when she took the reins at Xerox, the global document management company. Her rise to the top was remarkable, considering the obstacles she had to overcome as a Black woman in a white, male-dominated corporate world.

Burns was born in a New York City housing project in 1958, the daughter of Panamanian immigrants. Her single-parent mother worked hard to provide for her family, and Burns learned the value of hard work from an early age. She attended a Catholic school in Manhattan, where she excelled academically and discovered a love of science and math.

After earning a degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of NYU and a master's degree in engineering from Columbia University, Burns began her career at Xerox as an intern in 1980. Over the next three decades, she rose through the company ranks, holding various leadership positions and demonstrating exceptional management skills.

In 2009, she transformed the company from a printer and copier manufacturer to a leading digital document solutions and services provider during her tenure. She also oversaw Xerox's acquisition of Affiliated Computer Services, which doubled the company's size.

Burns' leadership at Xerox was characterized by her commitment to employees and determination to create a diverse and inclusive workplace. She was also a vocal advocate for racial and economic justice, speaking out against inequality and advocating for policies that would benefit all workers, not just those at the top.

In addition to her role at Xerox, Burns has served on the boards of several other major corporations, including Exxon Mobil, Nestle, and Uber. She has also been a champion of education, serving on the President's Export Council and the White House STEM Education Coalition.

Throughout her career, Burns has faced numerous obstacles and challenges, but she has always persevered. She has spoken openly about the discrimination she has faced as a Black woman in corporate America, and she has used her platform to advocate for change.

In a recent interview, Burns reflected on her journey to success and offered advice to others facing similar challenges. "The only way you can overcome the obstacles is to go through them," she said. "You can't go around them. You can't go over them. You have to go through them."

Burns' legacy as a trailblazer and a leader inspires us all. She has shown us that with hard work, determination, and a commitment to justice and equality, we can achieve great things, no matter our background or obstacles.