Accenture restructures organization, makes senior appointments
Amid challenging business conditions and declining stock value, Dublin-based consulting firm Accenture on Friday announced “changes to its growth model and its leadership”, effective September 1, 2025.
The technology-focused global consultancy announced it is consolidating its five service lines (strategy, consulting, Song, technology, and operations) into a single integrated business unit named “reinvention services."
In a Friday press release that focused heavily on its AI-driven services and solutions, Accenture announced that the integrated unit will be led by Manish Sharma, current CEO of the Americas.
Sharma is the heir apparent to Accenture CEO Julie Sweet. He has been at Accenture for 30 years and previously served as COO and group chief executive for operations.
“Today, our clients need more value faster, and Accenture is their reinvention partner of choice,” Sweet said. “These changes to our growth model will allow us to deliver that value and continue to scale our business by being an even stronger engine of reinvention that more rapidly delivers the power of Gen AI. We are writing the playbook for how to be the most AI-enabled, client-focused professional services company in the world and a great place to work for our people—our reinventors.”
John Walsh, current global COO, will succeed Sharma as CEO of the Americas. Walsh has been with Accenture for nearly 40 years, previously serving as chief sales officer and group chief executive for communications, media, and technology.
Jason Dess, currently head of the CFO and enterprise value practice, will succeed Jack Azagury as group chief executive for consulting. Azagury will leave the firm after nearly 30 years to pursue other opportunities.
Dess joined Accenture in 2021 after spending nearly two decades with Deloitte, where he was latterly head of global finance and performance.
Song will be led by Ndidi Oteh, who succeeds David Droga – who joined Accenture when it acquired his ad agency Droga5. Droga will remain at Accenture in a vice chair role.
Oteh is currently head of Americas at Song, the firm’s digital marketing and advertising arm. She has been at Accenture since 2011.
Rajendra Prasad, currently chief information and asset engineering officer, succeeds Karthik Narain as CTO and group chief executive for technology. Narain is leaving Accenture for other opportunities.
Prasad has been at Accenture for 20 years and previously served as global automation lead for technology.
Muqsit Ashraf will continue to serve as group chief executive for strategy and Arundhati Chakraborty will continue to be group chief executive for operations.
Hard Times
On Friday, Accenture shares slipped approximately 7% as the company reported third-quarter bookings that fell short of analyst estimates. Accenture’s Q3 bookings of $19.7 billion were well short of the $21.5 billion estimated by analysts.
Accenture, as well as other large consultancies, have seen a sharp retrenchment in public sector contracts under the cost-cutting initiatives of the Trump administration.
Accenture shares have lost nearly a fifth of their value since the beginning of 2025.
