Pierre Nanterme

Since becoming CEO of the now $30-billion management consulting and technology services firm in 2011, Nanterme has had his head in the cloud—that is, the software-via-the-Internet version. In practical terms, that means 18 acquisitions so far in 2015. Most recently, Accenture acquired Cloud Sherpas, which brought 1,100 more cloud specialists into the fold. Thanks largely to the CEO’s philosophy, the company developed digital services, such as Accenture Digital (which helps clients digitize their own businesses) earlier than competitors. In the third quarter of fiscal 2015, such services, including big data algorithms, increased 35% (compared to the same quarter a year ago) and represented more than 20% of Accenture’s revenue. Under Nanterme, the company is also overhauling its approach to its own management. In September it axed annual reviews and rankings. Nanterme told the Washington Post that Accenture will eliminate 90% of what it did in the past, showing admirable flexibility for a company that traces its past to a spinoff of the late Arthur Andersen accounting firm.