Julie Sweet

Julie Sweet
Sweet at the World Economic Forum in 2019
Julie Sweet
Born	Julie Terese Spellman 1967
Nationality	American
Occupation	Business executive, attorney
Title	Chair and CEO, Accenture
Known for	Leading Accenture as its first female CEO
Education	Columbia University (JD)
Children	2
Website	[https://www.accenture.com/us-en/about/leadership/julie-sweet Official site]

Julie Terese Sweet (née Spellman; born 1967) is an American business executive and attorney who serves as the chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of Accenture, a multinational professional services and consulting company. Sweet became Accenture's CEO on September 1, 2019, making her the first woman to lead the firm in its history. Before ascending to the top role, she served as CEO of Accenture's North America business, the company's largest geographic market. Prior to joining Accenture, Sweet spent a decade as a corporate attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, one of New York's most prominent law firms, where she became a partner. Her appointment as CEO of Accenture, a company with hundreds of thousands of employees worldwide and revenues exceeding $40 billion, placed her among a small number of women leading Fortune Global 500 companies. Under her leadership, Accenture has emphasized digital transformation, artificial intelligence adoption, and workforce reinvention as central pillars of its corporate strategy.

Early Life

Julie Terese Spellman was born in 1967 in the United States. In a 2019 interview with The New York Times, Sweet discussed elements of her upbringing and the influences that shaped her career trajectory. She recounted that she did not initially envision a career in business or corporate leadership, and that her path evolved through a series of decisions and opportunities rather than following a predetermined plan. Sweet has spoken publicly about the importance of remaining open to new experiences and not turning down opportunities, a principle she has described as formative in her own development.

Sweet has noted that leadership transitions and career shifts often begin not with certainty but with hesitation, followed by decisions that alter the course of one's professional life. She has cited this perspective in public remarks directed at students and early-career professionals, encouraging them to embrace uncertainty and take on unfamiliar challenges.

Education

Sweet attended Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. She subsequently enrolled at Columbia Law School at Columbia University in New York City, where she earned her Juris Doctor (JD) degree. Her legal education at Columbia positioned her for a career in corporate law, and she joined the prominent New York law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore after completing her degree.

Career

Legal Career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore

After graduating from Columbia Law School, Sweet began her legal career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, one of the most established corporate law firms in the United States. She spent approximately a decade at the firm, where she practiced corporate law and rose to the position of partner. At Cravath, Sweet worked on complex corporate transactions and developed expertise in areas relevant to large multinational companies. Her time at the firm provided her with a deep understanding of corporate governance, regulatory frameworks, and the legal dimensions of business strategy.

Sweet has discussed her decision to leave a successful legal career at Cravath in multiple interviews. In a 2019 profile in Business Insider, she described the thought process behind her career switch from law to business, noting that the transition was not without risk but was driven by a desire to take on broader operational responsibilities and leadership challenges beyond those available in a law firm setting.

Accenture: General Counsel and North America CEO

Sweet joined Accenture in 2010 as the company's general counsel, a role that drew upon her legal background while placing her within the leadership structure of a major global corporation. In this position, she oversaw Accenture's legal affairs, compliance, and corporate governance functions. Her role as general counsel also gave her exposure to the full breadth of Accenture's operations across its various business segments and geographic markets.

In 2015, Sweet was appointed CEO of Accenture's North America business, the company's largest market by revenue. This role represented a significant expansion of her responsibilities, moving her from a legal and advisory function into direct operational leadership of a major business unit. As North America CEO, Sweet was responsible for managing client relationships, driving revenue growth, and overseeing the strategic direction of Accenture's operations across the United States and Canada. Her tenure in this role was viewed as a proving ground for the broader CEO position, as North America accounted for a substantial portion of Accenture's global revenue.

Appointment as CEO of Accenture

On July 11, 2019, Accenture announced that its board of directors had selected Sweet to succeed Pierre Nanterme (who had resigned in January 2019 due to health issues and subsequently died) as the company's next CEO, effective September 1, 2019. The appointment was covered by major financial and business publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Financial Times, and Fortune.

Sweet's selection made her the first woman to serve as CEO of Accenture in the company's history. At the time of her appointment, Fortune noted that women led only 2.8 percent of Fortune Global 500 companies, underscoring the relative rarity of women in the top leadership positions at the world's largest corporations. Her background as a former Cravath partner was also noted as unusual for a CEO of a major technology and consulting firm, given that many of her peers in similar roles had risen through consulting or technology ranks rather than through the legal profession.

The announcement was also reported by Bizjournals, which noted that Sweet had been based in the Arlington, Virginia, area during her time leading Accenture's North America operations. Nasdaq also published a report on the appointment, noting its significance for the consulting industry.

Leadership and Strategic Direction

Under Sweet's leadership, Accenture has pursued a strategy centered on digital transformation, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and, increasingly, artificial intelligence. Sweet has been a prominent voice in the business community on the topic of how large organizations should approach the adoption of emerging technologies.

In March 2021, Sweet participated in a Washington Post Live event titled "The Path Forward: Digital Acceleration," where she discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic had accelerated the adoption of digital technologies across industries and how companies were rethinking their operating models as a result.

AI Strategy and Workforce Transformation

Beginning in the mid-2020s, Sweet placed artificial intelligence at the center of Accenture's corporate strategy and public messaging. She has spoken at major global forums, including the World Economic Forum in Davos, about the need for a human-centric approach to AI adoption. In January 2026, Sweet joined Axios at the World Economic Forum to discuss how AI adoption should be oriented toward growth rather than solely toward cost reduction, emphasizing the importance of workforce reinvention and continuous learning.

In February 2026, Sweet spoke at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, where she argued that AI would drive economic growth rather than eliminate jobs in the information technology sector. She emphasized the role of workforce reinvention and continuous learning in unlocking the next phase of growth for the technology services industry.

Sweet has also spoken to other CEOs about the importance of setting clear organizational goals around AI adoption. In January 2026, she shared an example of Accenture's own approach, suggesting that within three years, company leaders should be able to demonstrate measurable transformation in how their organizations use AI.

In a notable internal policy development reported in February 2026, Accenture began tying promotion eligibility for senior managers and associate directors to the use of AI tools. The policy, reported by The Guardian and The Times of India, indicated that Accenture was monitoring AI tool adoption among its workforce and requiring demonstrated use of such tools as a prerequisite for advancement to leadership roles. This approach reflected Sweet's broader stance that AI fluency should be embedded throughout the organization rather than confined to specialized technology teams.

Revenue and Client Engagement

As of early 2026, Accenture reported quarterly revenue of $17.7 billion. Sweet disclosed that she had met with approximately 30 global CEOs over the preceding two months, noting that nearly all of them were actively working to accelerate the deployment of AI within their organizations. She characterized the period as a "busy travel quarter," reflecting the intensity of client engagement as companies sought guidance on AI strategy and implementation.

Views on Trade and Economic Uncertainty

In early 2026, Sweet also commented on the economic environment shaped by trade policy, including the impact of tariffs introduced during the Trump administration. She noted that CEOs acknowledged operating in a "challenging and uncertain environment" but expressed a determination to continue investing and adapting their businesses despite the uncertainty.

Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives

During Sweet's tenure, Accenture has received public recognition for its efforts in workplace diversity and inclusion. In 2019, USA Today reported that Accenture was among the companies recognized for encouraging diversity within its workforce, alongside firms such as T-Mobile, Google, FedEx, and Intuit. Sweet has spoken publicly about the role of corporate leadership in fostering inclusive workplaces, consistent with Accenture's stated goal of achieving gender parity and increasing the representation of underrepresented groups across its global workforce.

In a 2019 interview with Fortune, Sweet discussed the broader CEO Initiative, a collaborative effort among business leaders to address societal challenges, including workforce development and economic inclusion.

Personal Life

Sweet married Chad Sweet in October 2004. The wedding was noted in The New York Times wedding announcements section, where she was listed under her maiden name, Julie Spellman. The couple has two children.

Sweet has been based in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, including Arlington, Virginia, during her time leading Accenture's North America operations.

Recognition

Sweet has been named to Fortune magazine's annual list of the Most Powerful Women in business. In 2020, she was featured on the Fortune Most Powerful Women list, which recognized her leadership of Accenture during a period of significant strategic transformation and digital acceleration.

Her appointment as Accenture's first female CEO was noted by multiple publications as a milestone for gender representation in the leadership of major global corporations. The CEO Magazine profiled her as the first female CEO of Accenture, highlighting the significance of the appointment in the context of the broader professional services and technology consulting industry. Fortune observed that at the time of her appointment, women led only 2.8 percent of Fortune Global 500 companies, placing Sweet among a small cohort of women at the helm of the world's largest firms.

Sweet has been a recurring speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where she has addressed topics including AI adoption, workforce transformation, and corporate responsibility.

Legacy

Julie Sweet's tenure as CEO of Accenture has been marked by the company's significant pivot toward digital transformation and artificial intelligence as core elements of its service offerings and internal operations. Her background as a corporate attorney who transitioned into operational business leadership distinguishes her career path from those of many peers in the technology consulting industry, where leaders have more commonly risen through consulting or engineering roles.

Sweet's emphasis on AI as a growth driver rather than primarily a cost-cutting tool has shaped the public discourse around technology adoption in the professional services sector. Her public statements at forums such as the World Economic Forum and the India AI Impact Summit have positioned Accenture as an advocate for human-centric AI adoption, with an emphasis on workforce reinvention and continuous learning.

The decision under her leadership to link employee promotions to AI tool usage represented one of the more concrete and widely reported examples of a major corporation embedding AI fluency into its human resources and talent management processes. This policy attracted both attention and scrutiny, reflecting broader debates about the relationship between AI adoption and workforce management in large organizations.

As one of the few women leading a Fortune Global 500 company, Sweet's career has been cited in discussions about gender representation in corporate leadership. Her trajectory from Cravath partner to general counsel to CEO of Accenture has been referenced in business media as an example of a nonlinear career path leading to the top of a major multinational corporation.