How the CEO of a highly acquisitive company stays ahead of trends

Good morning. Lila MacLellan here, filling in for Sheryl today. Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup, is a widely respected leader, but she recently told me about the chief executive she admires. “Julie is one of the top leaders in the corporate world, period,” she said of Accenture CEO Julie Sweet. “I mean, there aren’t many other people who can come close.”

“She’s very clear-eyed; she’s always curious,” Fraser also told me. “I think this is probably what will give her incredible longevity as a leader.”

As I write in a profile that also appears in the latest edition of Fortune magazine, Accenture’s results support Fraser’s views. Sweet took control of the tech-forward consulting giant in 2019, leaving her post as CEO of North America to take the corner office. Accenture’s market cap has grown from $90 billion in 2018, the year before Sweet was named global CEO, to $149 billion today. And in 2018, Accenture recorded annual revenue of $41 billion. Last year, it was $65 billion.

Some of that growth can be attributed to Accenture’s famously aggressive acquisitions strategy, which once earned the company the title of “world’s most acquisitive firm.” Indeed, Sweet first joined Accenture in 2010 as general counsel and was recruited because of her career as an attorney who led large and often innovative M&A deals.

But Sweet’s leadership style—shaped by her unique history—also explains her success at the firm and Accenture’s eye-popping organic growth. As I learned, Sweet managed to stay ahead of several trends, including cloud migration, partly by studying emerging technology, taking in many points of view, and then acting quickly when she sees an opportunity. To Fraser’s point, Sweet’s curiosity and openness arguably allowed her to see the rise of generative AI long before ChatGPT arrived. Despite current headwinds in its federal contracting business, analysts say Sweet has now positioned Accenture to take advantage of a coming massive cycle of AI adoption as some of the globe’s largest businesses look for assistance. Even if generative AI itself eats away at some of the demand for Accenture’s IT services, as one analyst suggested, companies will keep coming to Accenture for ever-more-complicated AI projects.

“We’ve already been leading,” Sweet told me, describing the company’s focus on AI, “but we are doubling down on that because we know that the unlock for clients in difficult times is scaling the impact of AI.” Read the full profile here.

Lila MacLellan
lila.maclellan@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Alex Kayyal was appointed CFO of The Trade Desk (Nasdaq: TTD), a global advertising technology company, effective Aug. 21. Currently serving on The Trade Desk’s Board of Directors, Kayyal will lead the company’s long-term financial and investment strategy. Laura Schenkein will transition from CFO after more than a decade in a series of finance leadership positions with the company. Most recently, Kayyal was a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, where he led the firm’s application software practice. He also spent nearly a decade at Salesforce in various executive roles globally, including SVP and managing partner of Salesforce Ventures.

Todd Tinelli was appointed SVP, CFO and treasurer of Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE American: LEU), effective Aug. 11. Tinelli replaces Kevin Harrill, who is resigning to pursue other opportunities after a successful four-year tenure as CFO. Harrill will remain with the company through Aug. 29. Tinelli most recently served as CFO of Sprague Resources LP, a multinational subsidiary of Hartree Partners LP. During his 18-year tenure at Sprague, he progressed through senior positions including treasurer and managing director of finance, director of FP&A and business development and other positions in accounting and finance.

Big Deal

The 2025 Global Financial Wellbeing Report, released by Nudge Global, a financial education platform, finds that younger generations—particularly those aged 16–24 (Gen Z)—are the most proactive in improving their financial health.

While only 69% of Gen Z rate their financial literacy as “good” to “excellent,” 88% are actively working to improve it—the highest rate of any age group. In contrast, just 71% of adults aged 55 and over (Gen X and Baby Boomers) are doing the same, despite having more life experience. According to the report, this suggests a generational shift in mindset, with younger people showing greater self-awareness and motivation to close their knowledge gaps.

However, lower financial literacy may also contribute to greater emotional volatility around money among younger people. Gen Z report the highest levels of financial shame (40%), which may reflect the pressures of navigating debt, job insecurity, and the rising cost of living early in life.

Additionally, 18% of Gen Z say they feel overwhelmed by debt—more than double the rate of those aged 55 and over (7%).

Going deeper

"How once-iconic Intel fell into a 20-year decline" is a Fortune report by Geoff Colvin.

From the report: "Intel's decline began some 20 years ago, when the company made multiple acquisitions, many of which were in telecommunications and wireless technology. In concept, that made great sense. But acquiring businesses is a skill of its own, and David Yoffie, a Harvard Business School professor who was on Intel’s board of directors at the time, told Fortune '100% of those acquisitions failed. We spent $12 billion, and the return was zero or negative.' Intel also tried unsuccessfully to grasp the mammoth cell phone opportunity. And as years went by, simple poor management crept in."

Read the complete report here.