Ursula Burns, the former head of Xerox Corp., is teaming up with veterans of private equity to start a business services and technology fund focused on diversity, inclusion and social impact, as well as returns, the group plans to unveil.
Burns, who was the first Black female chief executive officer of a Fortune 500 company, will serve as a founding partner of the new firm called Integrum. The other founders are Tagar Olson, a former partner at KKR & Co.; Richard Kunzer, previously of BC Partners; and Declan Kelly, who runs the CEO advisory firm Teneo.
A representative for Integrum declined to say how much the partners are seeking to raise for the fund, citing regulatory restrictions. The New York-based firm plans to focus its investing in services and technology businesses.
“We’re going to take a different approach to this in every decision we make,” Burns said. “We’ll take the private equity model that exists today but do it with different color shades on.”
In the decade or so since ascending to the top job at Xerox, Burns has remained an influential force in global business and an advocate for minorities. She sits on the boards of Nestle SA and Uber Technologies Inc. and recently started the Board Diversity Action Alliance, which pushes for more Black people in boardrooms.
Integrum will invest a portion of profits into a foundation to promote social inclusion and help disadvantaged groups, the firm said. “We want to build something we feel really good about,” said Olson.
The team hopes its experience in different industries will set the firm apart in a market awash with private equity cash. “Investing today is about finding partners,” said Olson.
