Ursula Burns is not only the first African-American woman to have been named C.E.O. of a major American Corporation, but she is also the first woman to succeed another woman as head of a company of this size. The company happens to be Xerox, whose name has been established as an everyday verb. Burns began as an intern with the company and over the last 30 years has worked her way up the ranks. When all the fuss was made about her new position, she enjoyed it at first, but quickly turned her attention to the task at hand, steering Xerox to become “more fearless and frank,” but describing one aspect of the corporate culture as “terminal niceness.”

Ursula Burns was raised by a single mother in a New York City public housing project. She went on to graduate from Columbia University before receiving an internship with Xerox that undoubtedly helped to shift the course of her life. Ursula Burns might not want the focus to be on herself, but she certainly deserves it. As both a woman and an African-American, she has raised the bar and continues to set new standards in the corporate world and for this, we think she’s SO Empowered!