Accenture Announces Management Shakeup; Appoints Julie Sweet as CEO

Consulting and outsourcing services provider Accenture on Thursday announced the appointment of Julie Sweet as its new chief executive officer, effective and David Rowland, currently interim chief executive officer as executive chairman.

Marge Magner, currently non-executive chair of the board, will resume her role as lead independent director, according to the board of the company. These changes are effective Sept. 1, 2019.

A former lawyer at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Julie Sweet was recruited to become Accenture’s general counsel in 2010. After five years in that role, she became chief executive for North America, Accenture’s largest market, with annual revenues of $17.8 billion.

Previously, Ms. Sweet was Accenture’s general counsel, secretary and chief compliance officer. As a member of Accenture’s senior leadership team for nearly a decade, she has played an integral role in the company’s business and investment strategy. Prior to joining Accenture, Sweet was a partner for 10 years in the law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. Upon assuming the role of chief executive officer, Sweet will join the company’s board of directors.

“Julie is the right person to lead Accenture into the future, given her strong command of our business and proven ability to drive results in our largest market,” said Rowland. “We are on a positive growth trajectory at Accenture and are very well-positioned to continue building on our strong momentum. I am so pleased and proud that Julie will lead our company, and I am excited to work with her — along with our entire senior leadership team — to ensure a seamless transition and on Accenture’s next phase of growth and market leadership.”

Accenture also confirmed that there is no change to the business outlook for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2019 that the company provided as part of its third-quarter fiscal 2019 earnings announcement on June 27, 2019.