Ursula M. Burns — Board Member Accountability Profile
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Ursula M. Burns — Board Member Accountability Profile

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Ursula M. Burns — Board Member Accountability Profile

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Category: Private Citizen — Corporate Director Role: Independent Director, ExxonMobil Corporation Board Tenure: 2012 – present Committee Memberships: Audit Committee; Board Affairs Committee Profile Type: Board Member Accountability — Anchor B (Documented Organizational Leadership)

> Basis for Inclusion: Ursula M. Burns holds a documented governance role at ExxonMobil Corporation, the largest U.S. oil and gas company by market capitalization, which made documented political donations to Trump-aligned entities. ExxonMobil’s business is significantly affected by federal energy policy, offshore drilling regulations, environmental permitting, carbon pricing, and U.S. trade policy on oil and gas exports — all areas where the Trump administration reversed Biden-era policies. This profile documents the factual governance relationship, not the subject’s personal political views.

> Subject Classification: Private Citizen / Corporate Director. Board membership is a matter of public record.

> What is NOT the basis for inclusion: Personal political opinions, party affiliation, or protected speech are NOT the basis for inclusion.

Biographical Overview

Ursula M. Burns served as Chief Executive Officer of Xerox Corporation from 2009 to 2016 and as Chairman from 2010 to 2017, becoming the first Black woman to serve as CEO of a Fortune 500 company. She joined Xerox in 1980 as a mechanical engineering intern and spent her entire career at the company, rising through engineering, product development, and operations. Burns holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Polytechnic Institute of New York University and an M.S. in mechanical engineering from Columbia University. During the Obama administration, she chaired the President’s Export Council and co-chaired the White House STEM education initiative. She has served on ExxonMobil’s board since 2012, providing one of its longest-tenured independent director perspectives.

Board Role and Governance Authority

  • Company: ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM)
  • Board tenure: 2012 – present
  • Committee assignments: Audit Committee; Board Affairs Committee
  • Governance note: As a member of the Audit Committee, Burns has oversight responsibility for ExxonMobil’s financial reporting, internal controls, and compliance functions.

Other Current Board Memberships

  • Nestlé S.A. (board member)
  • Uber Technologies, Inc. (former board member)

Parent Corporate Donor Profile

This profile is a governance-accountability companion to the ExxonMobil corporate donor profile.

Sources

  • ExxonMobil Corporation DEF 14A Proxy Statement, 2025; SEC EDGAR
  • Xerox Corporation Annual Reports and proxy filings, 2009–2017
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