Accenture PLC
Leadership History
6 leaders · 1989 to present
Julie Sweet is the CEO of Accenture, in the role since 2019. The first chief executive was George Shaheen, from 1989.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Rowland | Interim CEO | 2019 | 2019 | < 1 |
| Julie Sweet | Chair and CEO | 2019 | Present | 7 |
| Pierre Nanterme | CEO | 2011 | 2019 | 8 |
| William D. Green | CEO | 2004 | 2011 | 7 |
| Joe Forehand | CEO | 1999 | 2004 | 5 |
| George Shaheen | Managing Partner and CEO, Andersen Consulting | 1989 | 1999 | 10 |
Accenture is a Dublin-incorporated professional services company listed on the NYSE (ticker ACN). It serves about 9,000 clients in more than 120 countries with consulting, technology implementation, cloud, data and AI programs, and managed services that run clients' applications, infrastructure and business processes. It reported $69.67B of revenue in FY2025 and had about 799,000 employees as of May 31, 2026. Julie Sweet has been CEO since September 2019 and chair since September 2021. The company is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Despite its massive current international footprint, the legendary consulting empire actually originated in Chicago, Illinois during the 1950s as the internal technology division of the Arthur Andersen accounting firm, prior to famously breaking away in a bitter corporate split.
Interim CEO
2019 – 2019
0 years
Became executive chairman when Sweet became CEO and held that role until Sept 1, 2021, when Sweet added the chair position.
Chief financial officer who served as interim CEO from Jan 10, 2019 after Nanterme stepped down, until Julie Sweet took over on Sept 1, 2019.
Chair and CEO
2019 – Present
7 years (current)
Announced a $3B, three-year Data & AI investment in June 2023. Combined strategy, consulting, Song, technology and operations into a single Reinvention Services unit from Sept 1, 2025, alongside an $865M business optimization program. Agreed to buy UK AI company Faculty (January 2026) and Ziff Davis's Ookla connectivity unit for $1.2B (March 2026).
CEO since Sept 1, 2019 and chair since Sept 1, 2021; previously CEO of Accenture North America and, before that, general counsel. Revenue rose from $44.33B in FY2020 to $69.67B in FY2025, and headcount reached about 799,000 by May 31, 2026.
CEO
2011 – 2019
8 years
Expanded Accenture Interactive through design and agency acquisitions such as Fjord. Sold a 60% stake in insurance software unit Duck Creek to Apax Partners in 2016. Stepped down for health reasons on Jan 11, 2019 and died later that month.
CEO from January 2011 and also chairman from February 2013. Revenue grew from $27.35B in FY2011 to $41.60B in FY2018 as originally reported. Accenture acquired Fjord (2013) and agreed to buy Droga5 (announced April 2019, after his exit) as it built Accenture Interactive.
CEO
2004 – 2011
7 years
Board approved the reincorporation from Bermuda to Ireland in May 2009. Remained executive chairman after handing the CEO role to Pierre Nanterme in 2011 and retired as chairman in February 2013.
CEO from Sept 1, 2004 to January 2011, after serving as chief operating officer for client services. Revenue was $23.09B in FY2010, his last full fiscal year as CEO. He added the chairman role in 2006 and oversaw the 2009 move of the company's incorporation from Bermuda to Ireland.
CEO
1999 – 2004
5 years
Accepted the arbitrator's requirement to drop the Andersen name and relaunched the firm as Accenture. Incorporated the new company in Bermuda and listed it on the NYSE in July 2001. Handed the CEO role to William D. Green on Sept 1, 2004 and stayed on as chairman.
Succeeded Shaheen in November 1999 as global managing partner and CEO. Led the firm through the August 2000 arbitration ruling, the January 1, 2001 rename to Accenture and the July 19, 2001 NYSE IPO at $14.50 per share.
Managing Partner and CEO, Andersen Consulting
1989 – 1999
10 years
Took the consulting partners into ICC arbitration against Arthur Andersen and Andersen Worldwide in 1997. Left in September 1999 to become CEO of online grocer Webvan, before the arbitration ruling.
Led Andersen Consulting from its 1989 formation as a separate unit of Andersen Worldwide until September 1999, a period in which the consulting unit grew to about 65,000 employees and began the 1997 ICC arbitration to leave Arthur Andersen.
Generative AI can automate coding, testing and back-office work that Accenture has historically staffed with large delivery teams, which puts pressure on pricing for traditional implementation and outsourcing contracts. Growth slowed to 4% in FY2023 and 1% in FY2024 as clients cut discretionary projects, before recovering to 7% in FY2025. In September 2025 the company began an $865M business optimization program, mainly severance, and said it would exit staff who could not be reskilled for AI work. For FY2026 it guided to 3% to 4% local-currency growth, including an estimated 1 point drag from its U.S. federal business. Its shares lost about a third of their value in the year to September 2026.
Prior to becoming CEO, Julie Sweet served as Chief Executive Officer of Accenture's North America business (2015 to 2019) and as Accenture's General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for five years, having previously been a partner at law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
Pierre Nanterme was CEO of Accenture from January 2011 and also chairman from February 2013. He stepped down for health reasons on January 11, 2019 and died later that month. Revenue grew from $27.35 billion in FY2011 to $41.60 billion in FY2018 as originally reported.
William D. Green was CEO of Accenture from September 1, 2004 to January 2011, after serving as chief operating officer for client services. He oversaw the 2009 reincorporation from Bermuda to Ireland and was chairman until February 2013.
Joe Forehand became CEO of Andersen Consulting in November 1999, led it through the August 2000 arbitration ruling, the January 1, 2001 rename to Accenture and the July 2001 NYSE IPO, and handed the CEO role to William D. Green in September 2004.
Julie Sweet has appeared on Fortune's Most Powerful Women and Forbes' World's 100 Most Powerful Women lists.
Sweet's strategy focuses on 'Total Enterprise Reinvention', embedding AI into every business process, expanding managed services, and upskilling Accenture's roughly 799,000 people in generative AI fundamentals.
Julie Sweet has been both chair and CEO since September 1, 2021, when she succeeded executive chairman David Rowland as chair. The board has a lead independent director.
Julie Sweet became CEO of Accenture in 2019, previously serving as the company's General Counsel and CEO of its North American business.
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