Shaping the conversation

Mercer has the skills and capabilities to shape the conversation on human capital, she says. 'We function in 42 countries and we influence employers and influence policy in many more, and my strategic vision is that we use our intellectual capital and capabilities to do just that, to help shape a world in which economic growth is fuelled by the human capital asset in the best way possible. I think we have a key role to play in that.'

And while she was often the 'only woman in the room' at board meetings throughout her career, she has had the benefit of 'wonderful mentors' all through, she says, 'mostly male, because there weren't any women around'.

Outside her corporate life, Ms Burns - who spent most of her career in Atlanta but now lives in Manhattan - has been involved with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and used to work the hotlines at a shelter for battered spouses.

But her single biggest mission outside work is the Elton John Aids Foundation, of which she is a founding board member and its treasurer since its inception in 1992. 'We basically built it from the ground up. It's now very productive. It has given away in the order of, with matching grants, US$16 million in funding over the years. The foundation travels the world metaphorically in terms of its capabilities to touch and reach.'

Elton John is a 'fun man', she says of the English singer-songwriter, 'but beyond that, when he's with the foundation, he has been so generous with his time and effort'. Describing her involvement with the foundation as a 'great thing', she says: 'I think in life it's very important - we all work hard, we all have families and lives, and of course the career is a very large portion of my time, but to have some interest outside, something you give back to society, something you give of yourself that's outside of all of that, it's very rewarding.'

MICHELE BURNS

• Chairman & CEO, Mercer
  
• Director, Wal-Mart Stores
  
• Director, Cisco Systems
  
• Founding board member and treasurer, Elton John Aids Foundation
  
• Sept 2006 - Appointed chairman & CEO of Mercer, a MMC subsidiary
  
• March 2006 - Joined Marsh & McLennan Cos (MMC) as CFO
  
• 2004-2005 - EVP, CFO and chief restructuring officer, Mirant Corp
  
• 2000-2004 - CFO, Delta Air Lines
  
• 1999 - Joined Delta Air Lines as VP for corporate tax
  
• 1989-1998 - Partner, Arthur Andersen
  
• 1981-1989 - Consultant, Arthur Andersen
  
• 1980 - MAcc, University of Georgia
  
• 1979 - BBA, University of Georgia

This article was first published in The Business Times on November 29, 2008.