Xerox CEO Ursula Burns has been named as one of the world's 100 most powerful women. Burns, appointed as CEO in May to succeed Anne Mulcahy, became the first black woman to head a major public company.
"She's also the first to succeed another woman, Anne Mulcahy," notes Forbes magazine in its annual survey of the world's women who carry the most clout.
"Mulcahy was credited with turning the struggling company around. While Mulcahy focused on customer service and the bottom line, Burns saw to the day-to-day operations, helping to cut Xerox's workforce by nearly 40%," Forbes notes.
"Burns joined the printing giant in 1980 as a mechanical engineering summer intern and partially credits her early success to Xerox's search for diversity in talent. She serves on a number of boards, including the Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse at her alma mater, Columbia Amina Khan University."
The list of powerful women is headed by German premier Angela Merkel and has Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll at number four. Mulcahy, now chairman of Xerox, comes in at number 15.
"For Xerox to have two women in the top 20 most powerful women in the world is an unprecedented achievement," says Rob Abraham, MD of Bytes Document Solutions, distributor of Xerox to 24 African countries. "This is a great tribute to the company's diversity, for which it has won many awards, including being one of the best companies for women to work for. At Bytes Document Solutions, we have a similar commitment to diversity, as reflected in the Level 3 With Value Add Empowerdex rating we earned last month."
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Bytes Document Solutions
Bytes Document Solutions, previously known as Xerox South Africa, is a R1.8 billion-a-year company made up of three business components:
* The sole authorised Xerox distributor to 24 sub-Saharan countries;
* The largest South African paper merchant through NOR Paper; and
* Africa's leading digital printing and mailing bureau through LaserCom.
Bytes Document Solutions is recognised as a Level Three Contributor as defined by the Department of Trade & Industry's Codes of Good Practice. In addition, Bytes Document Solutions has been recognised as a value adding supplier, with its customers being able to claim 137.5% of their spend towards their preferential procurement measurement for their own BBEEE status.
Bytes Documents Solutions is a division of Bytes Technology Group South Africa, owned by Altron, with Kagiso Trust Investments as its empowerment partner. Web site: http://www.bytesdocumentsolutions.co.za
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