New York Times Profiles Bermuda Resident
Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, the first black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company, has been profiled in depth by the New York Times.
The spouse of Bermudian Lloyd Bean, Ms. Burns is a truly inspirational figure. The first black female CEO of a Fortune 500 company with an estimated six million dollar a year income, she was raised in a single mother household in a gang infested area of New York.
Ms. Burns married Mr. Bean, a now retired Xerox scientist in October 1988, and they went on to purchase a property in Southampton, Bermuda.
She been listed by Forbes magazine as the 14th most powerful female in the world, and Forbes lists her 2008 total compensation at $6,003,126.00.
On becoming Xerox’s CEO in July 2009 the article says:
She knew that she had completely misread the public reaction when her cellphone started ringing from people like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Magic Johnson. She had no idea how they had gotten her number. “I don’t even know Magic Johnson,” she says.
On growing up in a single mother household:
Her family (her father was never in her life) lived on the Lower East Side of Manhattan — “when it was really bad, when the gangs were there and the drug addicts were there.”
Her mother made ends meet by looking after other children. She also ironed shirts for a doctor who lived down the street and cleaned his office, bartering for things like medicine and even cleaning supplies.
Her mother, who died before she could see her daughter rise to the top at Xerox, also insisted that her children get a college education.
On income:
As president in 2008, she was paid $887,500 in salary, a $554,688 bonus and about $4 million in stock, according to an S.E.C. filing.
Click here to read the full four page article on New York times
The quick one minute video below shows Ms. Burns speaking of her childhood:
