document management software, consulting, and document outsourcing. A company of this size requires plenty of employees, and Xerox boasts more than 58,000 employees worldwide.
Xerox gets high marks for advancing ethnic minorities to top ranks. The company has three African Americans at the division-president level, all of whom made our “75 Most Powerful Blacks in Corporate America” list. They are: Ursula Burns, president, Business Group Operations; Emerson Fullwood, chief of staff and marketing, Xerox North America; and Quincy Allen, president, Production Systems Group.
Marlon Cousins, managing partner of The Marquin Group in Atlanta, says companies like Xerox are successful when it comes to appointing minorities to senior management positions because, “They do a very good job of succession planning, sponsorship of diverse talent, and [have developed] a clear strategy around cross-functional development as well as vertical development.” Cousins also credits the support of existing senior managers.
“Xerox is a company that leads by example. From my very first days at Xerox, the presence of diverse professionals at every level of the organization has sent a powerful message that advancement is based solely on performance,” says Kevin Warren, senior vice president, Eastern Sales Operation. Warren is a 21-year veteran with Xerox and says the company has made a significant investment in his training and education. “Throughout my career, Xerox has taken an active role in my future by providing mentors, development programs, and post-graduate education,” he says.
At the elite corporate officer level, there are people of all ethnic groups represented, and that is not by chance. The diversity office focuses on succession planning from the entry-level manager to the chairman. The diversity office strives to have a balanced workforce. “We don’t deal with quotas. However, based on the demographics and ethnicities available with the requisite skills in a workplace, we like to see that same representation in our workforce,” says Ernest Hicks, corporate diversity manager. That is to say, if Xerox were to find that 2% of African Americans are educated in a specialized engineering area, they will strive to make sure that specialized area within Xerox is staffed with at least 2% African Americans.
In addition, if Xerox recognizes there is a lack of diversity in a certain field, the corporation funds scholarships to encourage minorities to seek degrees in that field. —Sakina P. Spruell
Strengths
- SUPPLIER DIVERSITY
- SR. MANAGEMENT
- BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MGM MIRAGE Location: Las Vegas Type of Business: Hotels, casinos, resorts Diversity Contact: Punam Mathur, Senior VP, Corporate Diversity & Community Affairs
MGM Mirage takes its diversity initiatives seriously, having declared in May 2000 that it was a critical business imperative. Since then, the fifth largest hotel, casino, and resorts company, which boasts more than $4.2 billion in revenues, has fostered an environment in which diversity is recognized as a fundamental part of its culture. In 2000, MGM Mirage hosted its first Minority Business Expo as an opportunity to identify potential local vendors. As the company was quick to point out, minority vending and suppliers have “increased significantly” over the past five years because of “very