Accenture has named Julie Sweet as its next chief executive, concluding a six-month search for a new boss for the US-listed consulting giant after its popular leader Pierre Nanterme stepped down for health reasons.
Ms Sweet, who runs Accenture North America, will be the first female CEO of the Fortune Global 500 company. Her appointment comes as Accenture, one of the world’s largest consulting firms with a market capitalisation of $130bn, is expanding its focus on technological and digital transformation.
Accenture, which began as the consulting unit of accounting giant Arthur Andersen and became a public company in 2001, has been run since January by interim CEO David Rowland. Mr Nanterme, who had been at the helm for eight years, passed away that month.