With Ursula Burns As CEO, Xerox Gets Tough Operator
By Jerry A. DiColo, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Ursula Burns, who takes over this summer as chief
executive of printer maker Xerox Corp. (XRX), will bring to the corner office a
no-nonsense management approach she developed running the company's operations.
Her style, company watchers say, stands in contrast to the approach of her
predecessor, Anne Mulcahy, who turned around Xerox by convincing a demoralized
staff to trust in the company's future and revitalizing relationships with
customers. Meanwhile, Burns provided the blunt appraisals needed to right the
company's operations.
"Ursula is very direct. You don't have to guess where you stand with her and
what her reaction is to a proposal - from that standpoint there is a marked
difference," said a former Xerox executive.
On Thursday, Mulcahy said she will end her eight-year tenure as chief
executive, passing the company's reins to Burns. With the promotion, Burns
becomes the only African-American female chief executive among the Fortune 500's
top 150 companies.
Xerox declined to make Burns or Mulcahy available for comment.
Burns, widely seen as heir-apparent since her promotion to president in 2007,
was instrumental in the company's turnaround. Burns is credited with
successfully negotiating with company unions to eliminate or outsource thousands
of jobs in 2001.
It also was Burns who was able to bring manufacturing costs down and found
ways to outsource production to more efficient alternatives.
Burns, a 50-year-old Xerox lifer, joined the company in 1980 as a mechanical
engineering summer intern. She is known for her blunt directness in speech and
actions, and has spoken with a deep appreciation of the company's culture that
preaches "diversity, quality...and pride in the brand."
Mulcahy, on the other hand, has received praise as a "charismatic leader," who
revitalized a company by cutting costs while also re-establishing customer
relationships and Xerox's place as a tech leader.
"Often, what a turnaround artist will do is cut costs, and that's it," said
Robert Bruner, dean of the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. "
That so often proves to be a one-way ticket to liquidation."
In contrast, he said, Mulcahy was someone "who made the tough decisions to cut
costs but also energized a new perspective."
With Mulcahy staying on as board chairman, she'll still have a role in guiding
her successor. The former Xerox executive said one of Mulcahy's talents is in
identifying and motivating top talent.
Still, Burns faces the pressure of being judged by the success of her
predecessor.
"Ursula has very big shoes to fill. Anne has been an iconic turnaround leader
in both her ability to energize a dispirited organization and bring sales and
marketing momentum back," Bruner said.
Both Burns and Mulcahy have received much recognition for their place in
business, appearing high in any list that ranks the most powerful women.
However, Mulcahy - a regular top-ten member of The Wall Street Journal's annual
"Women to Watch" list - said in 2006 that she looks forward to moving beyond
gender.
"I yearn for the day when...the word 'woman' is not an unofficial part of my
title...for the day when there is no need nor interest in a list of most
powerful women in business," Mulcahy said at the time.
-By Jerry A. DiColo, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5670; jerry.dicolo@
dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-21-091629ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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