January 1, 2001

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Innovators And Influencers 2001

A Leader In The Charge For Change

Accenture CEO Joe Forehand makes bold bets on the future

By Larry Greenemeier

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o survive in the New Economy, consulting companies must be inventive. That's the precept followed by Joe Forehand, managing partner and CEO of Accenture, the rechristened Andersen Consulting. Such adaptability should serve Forehand well as the $8.9 billion company enters 2001 with a new moniker and new business models to build upon its core consulting and outsourcing practices.

To say 2000 was a challenging year for Andersen Consulting is like calling the presidential election a difference of opinion. Under Forehand's leadership, the 70,000-employee Andersen Consulting saw the end of a bitter relationship with sister firm Arthur Andersen and the start of joint technology ventures with top IT and telecommunications companies.

"Joe is making the bold bets that IT services firms need to make if they want to lead in the digital economy," says Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, an Accenture technology partner.

These joint ventures reveal Forehand's firm grasp of the changes in an industry being shaped by the Internet. Forehand says that Accenture's future will rely in part on the formation of satellite companies that focus on technology consulting and implementation. He envisions Accenture at the center of 20 to 30 satellite E-businesses such as Avanade, the Microsoft joint venture to help companies roll out Windows 2000; ePValue, an E-procurement service co-owned with Sun Microsystems; and E-peopleserve, a human-resources partnership with British Telecom. "The marketplace is demanding faster, market-ready solutions," the 52-year-old Alexander City, Ala., native says. "In the professional-services business, you have to grow or you die."

MOST ADMIRED LEADER: Gen. Colin Powell. "He best articulates some of the ways I've developed my leadership principles over the years." Some of Powell's sage advice: The day your soldiers stop bringing you problems is the day you stop being a good leader.

FAVORITE SPORT: An avid golfer, Forehand has hit the links with the likes of golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. Forehand manages to get in 30 to 40 rounds per year while maintaining a handicap in the low single digits.

Steve James, Accenture's chief operating officer, attributes Forehand's success to leading the organization to change. "I've been impressed with Joe's ability not only to change the organization's direction but to gain immediate acceptance for his ideas," he says. What helps Forehand win others' acceptance? He empowers employees and rewards people for their efforts, James says. One of Forehand's greatest innovations is a program to recognize employee performance by awarding stock in companies in which Accenture maintains an equity stake.

Forehand has spent his entire 28-year career with the same company. He became CEO in November 1999. "I didn't join Andersen thinking I would stay for almost 30 years," Forehand says. Key to his longevity: seeing to it that every day is a little better than the day before.

Better or not, the new year presents Forehand with challenges equal to those he faced in 2000. One big task will be taking Accenture public. And just like last year, 2001 could be a year filled with seven-day workweeks for Forehand.

Photo by Richard Lee

Continue on to Aram Sinnreich, senior analyst Jupiter Research

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