Accenture vs TotalEnergies: Founders, CEOs and History

Company facts

Founders

CEOs and their tenures

Timeline: Accenture and TotalEnergies side by side

1. 1924TotalEnergies

   Compagnie Francaise des Petroles founded

   The French state-backed oil company was created to secure access to petroleum resources and became the predecessor of TotalEnergies.

2. 1953Accenture

   Arthur Andersen GE feasibility study

   Arthur Andersen's administrative services group, led by Joseph Glickauf, carries out a study for General Electric on computerizing payroll at Appliance Park in Louisville, Kentucky.

3. 1954TotalEnergies

   Total Brand Created

   The company created the Total brand in 1954 to build a retail distribution network.

4. 1989Accenture

   Andersen Consulting formed

   Arthur Andersen and Andersen Consulting become separate units of Andersen Worldwide Societe Cooperative, with George Shaheen as managing partner and CEO of the consulting unit. The more profitable unit pays the other up to 15% of profits.

5. 1995TotalEnergies

   Thierry Desmarest becomes CEO

   Thierry Desmarest became CEO of TotalEnergies in 1995. Led Total from 1995 to 2007 and engineered the Petrofina and Elf Aquitaine combinations; remained Chairman until 2010.

6. 1997Accenture

   Arbitration with Arthur Andersen begins

   Andersen Consulting files an arbitration claim with the International Chamber of Commerce, arguing that Arthur Andersen broke their agreement by building its own competing consulting practice.

7. 1999TotalEnergies

   Petrofina acquired; Elf Aquitaine follows in 2000

   Total combined with Belgium's Petrofina in 1999 and Elf Aquitaine in 2000, operating as TotalFinaElf before reverting to Total in 2003.

8. 2000Accenture

   Arbitration ruling and Avanade

   In April 2000 Andersen Consulting and Microsoft form Avanade, a joint venture now majority owned by Accenture.

9. 2000TotalEnergies

   Elf Aquitaine Acquired

   Total acquired Elf Aquitaine in 2000, forming TotalFinaElf.

10. 2001Accenture

    Rename to Accenture and NYSE IPO

    Andersen Consulting becomes Accenture on Jan 1, 2001, a name based on "Accent on the future" suggested by an employee in Oslo. The Bermuda-incorporated company prices its IPO at $14.50 per share and starts trading on the NYSE on July 19, 2001.

11. 2004Accenture

    William D. Green becomes CEO

    William D. Green succeeds Joe Forehand as CEO on Sept 1, 2004; Forehand remains chairman.

12. 2007TotalEnergies

    Christophe de Margerie becomes CEO

    Christophe de Margerie became CEO of TotalEnergies in 2007. CEO from 2007 and Chairman from 2010 until his death in a plane accident at Moscow's Vnukovo airport in October 2014.

13. 2009Accenture

    Reincorporation in Ireland

    On May 26, 2009 the board approves moving the company's place of incorporation from Bermuda to Ireland, which remains its legal domicile.

14. 2011Accenture

    Pierre Nanterme becomes CEO

    Pierre Nanterme becomes CEO in January 2011. The same year Accenture completes its purchase of insurance software company Duck Creek Technologies.

15. 2011TotalEnergies

    Acquired SunPower (majority stake)

    TotalEnergies acquired SunPower (majority stake).

16. 2013Accenture

    Fjord acquisition

    Accenture agrees in May 2013 to acquire Fjord, a service design consultancy, adding design capacity to Accenture Interactive.

17. 2016Accenture

    Duck Creek stake sold to Apax

    Funds advised by Apax Partners buy a 60% stake in Duck Creek Technologies from Accenture, which keeps 40%.

18. 2018TotalEnergies

    Direct Energie acquired

    Total bought French power and gas retailer Direct Energie, the base of its European retail electricity business.

19. 2019Accenture

    CEO transition and Droga5

    Nanterme steps down for health reasons on Jan 11, 2019 and CFO David Rowland becomes interim CEO. Accenture Interactive completes the purchase of creative agency Droga5, and Julie Sweet becomes CEO on Sept 1, 2019.

20. 2021TotalEnergies

    Total becomes TotalEnergies

    The company changed its name to TotalEnergies to reflect a broader multi-energy strategy spanning oil, gas, electricity, renewables, and low-carbon energy.

21. 2022Accenture

    Accenture Song

    On April 26, 2022 Accenture Interactive begins going to market as Accenture Song. FY2022 revenue rises 22% to $61.59B.

22. 2023Accenture

    $3B Data & AI investment

    In June 2023 Accenture announces a $3B investment over three years in its Data & AI practice and a plan to double AI talent to 80,000 people.

23. 2024Accenture

    Udacity acquisition

    Accenture completes its purchase of online education company Udacity on May 20, 2024 to support its Accenture LearnVantage training business.

24. 2025Accenture

    FY2025 results and restructuring

    FY2025 revenue reaches $69.67B with $80.62B in new bookings. In September 2025 Accenture outlines a six-month, $865M business optimization program, mainly severance, and moves to a single Reinvention Services unit.

25. 2025TotalEnergies

    2025 results

    Revenues from sales of $182.344 billion, adjusted net income of $15.6 billion (down 15%), IFRS net income of $13.127 billion and a €3.40 dividend.

26. 2026Accenture

    Faculty and Ookla deals

    Accenture completes the acquisition of UK AI company Faculty on March 16, 2026 and agrees in March 2026 to buy Ziff Davis's connectivity division (Ookla, Speedtest, Downdetector) for $1.2B in cash. Q3 FY2026 revenue is $18.72B.

27. 2026TotalEnergies

    Mozambique LNG full restart

    On January 29, 2026, Patrick Pouyanné and President Daniel Chapo announced the full restart of the roughly $20 billion Mozambique LNG project after force majeure was lifted in November 2025.

28. 2026TotalEnergies

    Q2 2026 results

    Adjusted net income of $6.0 billion and cash flow of $9.8 billion in the second quarter as higher oil prices tied to the Middle East conflict lifted earnings.

Acquisitions

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