The Ford Foundation has announced the election of Ursula Burns as the new chair of its Board of Trustees. Burns will become the 13th board chair of the foundation, succeeding Dr. Francisco Cigarroa. She is the first African American woman to serve as board chair in the Ford Foundation’s 90-year history.
Burns joined the board in 2015 and serves as chair of the Audit Committee. She is also a member of the Executive Committee. Recognized by Forbes and Fortune magazines as one of the most influential women in the world, Burns is a founder and Investment Committee member of the private equity firm Integrum and the non-executive chairman of Teneo Holdings LLC. Previously, she served as the chairman and CEO of VEON from 2018 to 2020. In 2009, Burns became the chairman and CEO of the Xerox Corporation and the first African American woman to head a Fortune 500 company. During her tenure at Xerox, Burns led the largest acquisition in the company’s history, catapulting its presence in the global services market.
Cigarroa will remain on the board through October 2026 after serving with distinction as chair for eight years.
“Dr. Francisco Cigarroa has served the Ford Foundation with extraordinary dedication during a period of significant change for our world and our work. We are forever grateful to Francisco for his humanity, integrity, kindness, and wisdom,” said Heather Gerken, president of the Ford Foundation. “As we look forward, I can think of no better leader to help guide the foundation toward its second century than Ursula Burns. She brings singular experience and expertise, clear-eyed judgment, and a deep commitment to the values that have long defined our institution. I am thrilled and grateful to partner with her as we continue to bolster democratic values and institutions, protect the rule of law, and advance human dignity around the world.”
In 2009, Burns was appointed by President Barack Obama to lead the White House national program on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. She also served as vice chair and chair of the President’s Export Council. In February 2022, Burns joined the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness as vice chair. Burns is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the G7 Gender Equity Advisory Council.
“It is a profound honor to receive the baton of leadership from Dr. Francisco Cigarroa, whose stewardship immensely strengthened the Ford Foundation and its global impact,” said Ursula Burns. “And I am particularly energized and inspired by this opportunity to collaborate with Heather and our trustees, staff, and community at this pivotal time of heightened responsibility and possibility.”
A native New Yorker, Burns holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of New York University. She also holds board positions on Uber Technologies Inc., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Corporation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Mayo Clinic, among others.
Ford Foundation trustees are elected by the board and serve up to two six-year terms. Trustees approve the foundation’s program strategy and set broad policies on grantmaking, investments, and governance. The foundation’s trustees come from around the world and have extensive experience in the nonprofit sector and social justice, law, government, higher education, business and finance, and technology.
