When it comes to navigating in times of unprecedented change in an emerging new era for business, Julie Sweet excels. As the first female Chief Executive Officer of digital consulting giant Accenture, supervising more than half a million employees, she is the perfect example of how female leaders can help their companies think differently, outperform the competition, and transform themselves. Risk-taking has become the theme of her career, and she has demonstrated a lifetime commitment to supporting women in business.
Sweet was born in California, where she spent her childhood. From an early age, her parents instilled in her the importance of education. “My dad painted cars for a living. He didn’t graduate from high school. My mom was a beautician in her early days, and then my parents decided that one of them needed to go to school in order to build the future. So my mom started going to college when I was in eighth grade, and she graduated when I was a freshman in college,” Sweet said.
Following her parents’ example, she quickly showed a willingness to face challenges, take risks, and pursue her dreams. Sweet earned a bachelor’s degree from Claremont McKenna College and a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School. In 1987, at just 19, she moved to China to learn a new language and culture, an experience that without a doubt helped her to become the successful businesswoman she is today.
When she started her career in 1992 at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, she learned firsthand what it was to be one of few women at a prestigious law firm with only two female partners. She rose through the ranks and became the ninth female partner in 1999. She helped create the first women’s program and by the time she left, women represented 25% of Cravath’s partners.
In 2010, she joined Accenture as general counsel before becoming CEO in 2019. Now, she not only helps Accenture’s clients to navigate the complex digital future but also works on emphasizing gender equality across the company. Her top priority is promoting women, whether at Accenture or outside the company. To this end, she also serves on the board of directors of Catalyst, a nonprofit organization working to expand opportunities for women in business globally. “We’re supposed to be bringing out-of-the-box thinking and innovation, and you cannot do that unless you’ve got diversity...It’s everything from gender to ethnicity to geographic diversity,” she said.