WXXI: Ursula Burns to Take Over at Xerox (2009-05-21)

Starting in July, Ursula Burns is the new Chief Executive at Xerox.

CEO Anne Mulcahy has announced she is retiring after eight years as head of the company. Mulcahy told investors at the Xerox annual meeting Thursday morning that Burns will replace her, and said she "has been at my side, helping turn Xerox around."

This may be the first time the leadership of a Fortune 500 company has been handed off from one woman to another.

Nora Bredes is director of the Susan B. Anthony Center for Women's Leadership at the University of Rochester. She says this is an exciting development. In a world that's obsessed with "firsts," Bredes says this is a genuinely exciting development. She says it's encouraging to see Ann Mulcahy extending her legacy as a leader to another woman.

Mulcahy is 56. She was appointed in 2001 after the company fired G.Richard Thoman, and she's credited with leading Xerox out of a deep financial slump in the early part of this decade.

One analyst feels the company is in good hands with her chosen successor.

George Conboy predicts the transition will be seamless. Ursula Burns has been with Xerox since 1980, and has groomed for the CEO's job by Mulcahy over the past few years. He says both women are highly competent, have excellent reputations and have spent a long time with Xerox. Conboy says employees, Wall Street and customers will see this as a good move.

Conboy says he's a little surprised at the move, but says Mulcahy is stepping down "at the top of her game."