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Julie Sweet Channels ‘Fearless but Ready’ Ethos Into $6.6 Billion Accenture Acquisitions

Her father’s lesson in being ‘so much better’ underpins a series of acquisitions bolstered by $1.4 billion in AI bookings that strengthened Accenture’s growth outlook.

Accenture CEO Julie Sweet’s rise from law partner to chief executive shows that curiosity and range, not credentials, are the new power skills.
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Overview

  • At 15, Sweet’s father told her she had to be significantly better than her competitors, teaching her to be ‘fearless but ready’ after she lost a local speech contest.
  • Sweet rose from partner at Cravath Swaine & Moore to Accenture’s general counsel in 2010, became North America chief in 2015 and was named global CEO in 2019 following Pierre Nanterme’s death.
  • Lacking a tech background, she enlisted Bhaskar Ghosh as a personal tutor, meeting biweekly for 18 months to master cloud and AI fundamentals.
  • Since mid-2023, under Sweet’s leadership Accenture has deployed $6.6 billion on strategic acquisitions to expand its digital and AI services.
  • Those deals and a focus on generative AI bookings totaling $1.4 billion prompted Accenture to raise its revenue outlook in March.