Raised by a single mother, in a tough neighborhood, in the low-income housing project of New York, often associated with gang violence, Ursula had three strides against her. She is black, she is a woman, and she was poor.
- Ursula’s mother instilled self-respect in her 3 children to be courageous, confident and emphasized the importance of education in their lives. Ursula understood that education only is her armor, her weapon, and that it would lead her way up and forward.
- Ursula was an excellent student at Cathedral High School, showing talent in mathematics. Her exemplary grades earned her a scholarship to study bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University.
- Subsequently, Columbia University embraced her, and she came out with flying colors with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. At the campus, she got an internship in Xerox Corpn in 1980 and her tenure there lasted for more than 36 years ending as the Chairperson and CEO in 2017.
- Ursula initially worked in product development & planning. Later, she became the executive assistant to the Chairman and CEO, Paul Allaire. This position broadened her horizon, and she could handle tough situations on the job confidently and could come out with success.
- In the company, Ursula was known for her courageous and outspoken qualities. She became President of Xerox in 2007, CEO in 2009, and Chairperson in 2010. She was the first African American woman to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company in Corporate America.
- Her style of leadership is considered to listen, trust the team, and be analytical. Ursula was endowed with tenacity and a fierce work ethic. These qualities propelled her to be one of the top echelons of the US business realm.
- Ursula transformed Xerox from a document company to the world’s most diversified business services company. She acquired a company called Affiliated Computer Services which was valued at $ 6.4 Billion.
- Her extensive international experience has brought her many board membership positions. Ursula is on the board of Uber, Scratch, Exxon Mobile, Veon, Stem, Endeavor Group, IHS Holdings, Teneo Holdings, Plum Acquisition Corpn, and many others.
- She is on the governing council of the Ford Foundation, MIT Tech Education, and Cornell Tech Boards. Her amazing journey of life has many pieces of advice to offer to face challenging and threatening situations to young managers. ?
- She is regarded as a Guiding light for young women wanting to succeed. Her book “Where you are, is not who you are”, spells out the difficulties she faced in her life and becomes a guide to lead the readers to achieve great success in their lives.
- The most important point that we all can take from her life is based on the famous quote “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare it for today.”
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# GCT Coimbatore Alumni # Sales Management Executives # Compressed Air Best Practices # Valves Net work # Oil & Energy # Ursula Burns.
