Xerox has made history and achieved another step forward in the advancement of American social and business culture: It has tapped Ursula Burns as its new CEO, effective July 1st. Ms. Burns, 50, an avid biker, worked her way up from Xerox intern (in 1980) to her new CEO position.
She will be the first black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company, and will be of course, one of just a few female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies—there are currently 15. No big changes are expected at Xerox as Ms. Burns takes the reigns; she has been working alongside her predecessor Anne Mulcahy for months now, running several major organizations within the company. But this does signal big change in the way we are thinking about business. Good!
Business is about competition and it shouldn’t be about anything else. May the best teams win. Those that are most innovative and creative. Those that work hard to cater to their customers when customer service seems sometimes to be dead. Those that understand that diversity is a competitive business advantage not just a nice thing to do, although it is also the right thing to do. May these businesses push their way to the top in today’s new economically challenged environment. May this happen so that we can all, once and forever more, buy into the philosophy that the best ideas, leaders and teams should win—not ones of particular backgrounds or genders. But the ones who get the job done.
Hats off to you Ms. Burns, our honorary Ms. CEO of the Week; we look forward to what you will achieve!
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