By Carolyn Gray Anderson
“One of the things that Xerox found out early is,
if it’s good for society, it’s generally good for business.”
— Ursula Burns
The UCLA Anderson School of Management is proud to announce that Ursula Burns, chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation, is the recipient of the 2015 John Wooden Global Leadership Award. The annual award pays tribute to the legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, and recognizes business leaders who manifest Wooden’s humility and his capacity to inspire; who focus on process while achieving remarkable results; and who show steadfast commitment to improving the community. Past recipients include: Paul E. Jacobs (executive chairman, Qualcomm) Robert Iger (chairman and CEO, Disney), Indra Nooyi (chairman and CEO, Pepsico), Peter Ueberroth (managing director, Contrarian Group), Peter Smith (president and CEO, FedEx), Kenneth Chenault (chairman and CEO, American Express Company) and Howard Schultz (chairman, president and CEO, Starbucks).
Over the last 35 years, Burns has proved in multiple capacities her embodiment of these qualities. She guided Xerox’s transformation from a global leader in document technology to the world’s most diversified business services company, serving enterprises and governments of all sizes. Shortly after becoming chairman in 2010, she spearheaded the largest acquisition in Xerox history, the $6.4 billion purchase of the Dallas-based IT and business process outsourcing company Affiliated Computer Services.
As the first black woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company, she has seen Xerox’s culture diversify tremendously as well. Burns takes an active role in continuing and further evolving Xerox’s culture of tolerance and equity. The company is known for making great strides in hiring, advancing and retaining African American male employees and executives starting in the early days of the Civil Rights era; but Burns observed that it was behind in creating these opportunities for women.
When PBS reporter Paul Solman asked Burns in 2014, “Why is gender diversity good for Xerox?” she replied: “I think it’s good for all companies. Xerox found out a while ago that including more of the resources of the world to attack problems or address opportunities is better than including fewer. Think about it — half of the population is women, and by not including them actively, we start with one foot outside the circle already. They’re in our customer base, they’re in government around the world, so we have to use the resources that we have in the world better.”
In August 2015, Xerox announced a new diversity initiative in conjunction with President Barack Obama and the White House’s first Demo Day, aimed at bringing greater diversity to the tech world. The company takes a page from the NFL’s playbook and the “Rooney Rule” that requires one minority candidate be interviewed for every head coaching vacancy in the National Football League. The “Wilson Rule,” named after Xerox’s first CEO Joe Wilson, covers all management and executive-level positions and requires that at least one minority and one woman be among the final applicant pool considered for any leadership hire in the United States.
Burns started working for Xerox in 1980 as a mechanical engineering intern. By 1992, she was leading several business teams, including the company’s color business and office network printing business. In 2000, she was named senior vice president of corporate strategic services, heading up manufacturing and supply chain operations, and in 2002 she became president of Xerox group operations. In April 2007, Burns was named president of Xerox, expanding her responsibilities and leadership to include IT, corporate strategy, human resources, corporate marketing and global accounts. She became chief executive officer in 2009 and chairman the following year.
This kind of transformative leadership exemplifies the standards Coach Wooden is remembered for upholding. “Underlying Coach Wooden’s definition of success was a sense of pride, a commitment to ethics and a respect for teamwork,” said Dean Judy Olian. “These fundamental principles translate seamlessly from the sports arena to the realms of business, management and leadership. And they provide the cornerstone on which the John Wooden Global Leadership Program is built at UCLA Anderson.”
This year’s Wooden Awards ceremony takes place on Tuesday, October 6, at Beverly Wilshire. Maggie Wilderotter, executive chairman of Frontier Communications and Xerox board member, will interview Burns. Proceeds from the dinner fund $25,000 John Wooden Global Leadership fellowships, which in 2015 will be awarded to four Anderson MBA students.
Comments