Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox

The Executives

Ursula Burns

CEO
Xerox

It's no secret that the corporate world is rigged against women, especially minority women. That makes Ursula Burns' picaresque rise from summer intern to Xerox CEO even more astounding. In fact, Burns is the first African-American woman ever to helm a Fortune 500 company. President Obama has tapped her talents twice: In November, Obama asked Burns to help lead STEM, a national program to better educate students in science, technology, engineering, and math; in March, he appointed her vice chair of the President's Export Council. --Damian Joseph