Xerox president to discuss leadership at Whitman School

Xerox president to discuss leadership at Whitman SchoolOctober 22, 2008Amy Schmitzaemehrin@syr.edu

Ever wondered if it is really possible to start at the very bottom of an organization and work your way to the top? That’s just what Ursula M. Burns was able to do. Burns, who started her career at the Xerox Corp. in 1980 as a mechanical engineering summer intern, rose through the ranks and was named president of the Fortune 500 company in 2007.

On Nov. 4 at 1 p.m., the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University will host Burns in a free Berman Lecture. Her presentation, “Lessons of Leadership: Bold Bets and Back to Basics,” will take place in the Lender Auditorium, on the Concourse level of the Whitman School building. It is open to the public. Paid parking is available at the University Avenue Garage.

Today, Burns is responsible for Xerox’s global research, development, engineering, marketing and manufacturing of Xerox technology, supplies and related services. She also oversees global accounts, information management, corporate strategy, human resources and ethics, and marketing operations. Burns holds a bachelor’s degree from the Polytechnic Institute of New York and a master’s degree from Columbia University, and was recently named to Forbes’ 2008 “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” list. She is one of a very few African American women with her status in the business world.

Burns’ lecture is part of the Martin and Phyllis Berman Distinguished Lecture Series, which brings prominent business leaders to Whitman to share their expertise and perspectives with the University community and Central New York executives.

For more information, contact Amy Mehringer, Whitman communications manager, at (315) 443-3834 or aemehrin@syr.edu.