Fortune - August 30, 2025

Titans and Disruptors: Accenture CEO Julie Sweet

Saturday, August 30, 2025

Foreword

Alyson Shontell

Editor-in-Chief

Julie Sweet is one of the most powerful executives in the world, overseeing a 770,000-person workforce at consulting giant Accenture. In her role, she speaks to more Fortune 500 CEOs than almost anyone—dozens of companies pay Accenture $100 million-plus in a single quarter to help them solve their biggest problems—so she has her finger on the pulse of the biggest issues in business today.

I sat down with Sweet for the launch of a new vodcast I’m hosting, Fortune 500: Titans and Disrupters of Industry. You can think of it as CEO Office Hours: If you get to spend a full hour with the most experienced business leaders on the planet, what wisdom can you extract?

Here’s some of what we discussed in our hour-long sit down:

On AI:

How she uses AI in her personal life and in her CEO job.
How long it will really take AI projects to pay off for businesses. (A recent market-moving MIT report suggested 95% of generative AI pilot projects are failing.)
How companies should think about AI implementation, and whether or not agentic AI is worth the investment.
Predictions on when we will get to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and what it will mean for the future of work.

On management and leadership:

How to weigh a mid-life career change. Sweet was a high-powered lawyer at a top firm but left that career path in her 40s to join Accenture.
How she got offered the top job—and how not to react if it feels like a stretch role.
How she leads massive restructurings and gets her workforce on board—without written memos.
Why one of her superpowers is asking for help, and a critical career lesson her dad taught her about being over-prepared.

On work, life and health:

How she has battled cancer twice, and what each diagnosis has taught her about her priorities and long term goals.

I hope you find the conversation as valuable as I did. Please subscribe to the vodcast on Spotify and YouTube.

Catch Up

Fortune 500

How Julie Sweet leads 770,000 employees and coaches Fortune 500 CEOs on AI

by Alyson Shontell

Watch now

Finance

Crypto hoarding brings a stock pop for small firms—and in some cases shows patterns of possible insider trading

by Ben Weiss

Economy

It’s time to unmask the Trump tariffs for what they really are: A giant national sales tax that will hobble growth

by Steve H. Hanke & Shawn Tully

Leadership

Hanging onto top talent. What makes people say no to a $100 million job offer?

Markets

Limits of a boycott. Canadians are pouring more into U.S. stocks than they have in over 35 years

Retail

Gaining a leg up. Dollar General builds a rural delivery edge over Walmart and Amazon

Deals & Developments

Sycamore Partners announced it completed the $10 billion acquisition of Walgreens Boots Alliance (No. 26), taking the pharmacy chain private. The private equity firm will now split the larger business into five standalone companies.
AT&T (No. 37) has agreed to spend $23 billion on low- and mid-band spectrum licenses from EchoStar, a satellite communications provider, significantly expanding AT&T’s wireless capacity and improving its reach in 5G and home internet services.
PepsiCo (No. 45) has agreed to pay $585 million to increase its stake in Celsius Holdings to 11%. The agreement sees Celsius acquire the U.S. and Canada brand of Rockstar Energy, an energy drink company PepsiCo bought for $3.85 billion in 2020, while PepsiCo takes over the distribution of Celsius in the U.S. and Canada.
Keurig Dr Pepper (No. 284) agreed to acquire Peet’s Coffee from parent company JDE Peet’s for $18 billion. Keurig Dr Pepper plans to split into two public companies following the deal, one centered around coffee products and the other on soft drinks, energy drinks, and other beverages.

Overheard

“You need to be as close to the people doing the work as possible.”

—Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky says he personally handpicks staff, treats them as direct reports, and decides who stays.

On earnings calls:

Nvidia (No. 31) reported second-quarter revenue of $46.74 billion, a 56% year-over-year increase and surpassing Wall Street’s expectations. Despite that, the company’s stock fell following the earnings call after reporting no H20 chip sales to China in the quarter due to unresolved export controls imposed by the Trump administration.
Dell Technologies (No. 44) reported Q2 fiscal 2026 revenue of $29.8 billion, a 19% increase from the year prior amid continued demand for AI infrastructure.
HP (No. 84) posted net revenue of $13.9 billion for the most recent quarter, up 3.1% year-over-year and slightly above forecasts, thanks to strength in its Personal Systems segment. In the earnings call, CEO Enrique Lores praised the company’s ability to “adapt quickly to the evolving trade environment,” as “nearly all products sold in North America are now built outside of China.”
Dollar General (No. 112) saw its second-quarter net sales rise 5.1% to $10.7 billion. CEO Todd Vasos credited new partnerships with DoorDash and Uber Eats—which increased delivery sales by 60% year-over-year—for the retailer’s strong earnings and improved outlook. Read more: Dollar General builds a rural delivery edge over Walmart and Amazon
Kohl’s (No. 261) reported a better-than-expected adjusted earnings per share for the most recent quarter, though net sales fell 5.1% in the period, and net sales are projected to decline 5% to 6% this year as the company continues to cut staff and slim inventory. Interim CEO Michael Bender, who took over in May following the abrupt dismissal of former CEO Ashley Buchanan, prioritized bringing economic value and better in-person experiences to customers. Read more: Relieved Kohl’s investors give the stock a 20% boost—but the CEO’s plan to get ‘back to growth’ is far from a done deal
Gap (No. 290) missed revenue expectations for the most recent quarter, bringing in $3.73 billion. Three of the largest brands under the company’s umbrella—Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy—experienced sales growth, though Athleta’s low sales and tariff-related impacts on operating margin dragged the company down.

Earnings to watch next week include: Salesforce (No. 120), Dollar Tree (No. 139), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (No. 143), and Campbell’s (No. 425) on Sept. 3; Broadcom (No. 88) and Lululemon athletica (No. 401) on Sept. 4; and others.

See all recent coverage of Fortune 500 earnings calls.

Looking Ahead

Oct

Most Powerful Women Summit 2025: Leading in a Dynamic World

Join women from the world’s most influential businesses for candid, in-depth conversations about today’s business landscape and the new leadership models that are shaping where we go next. (Washington, D.C.) Register now

Oct

Fortune Global Forum 2025

The Fortune Global Forum gathers the leaders of the world’s biggest multinational companies in great cities on the dynamic frontiers of global business. (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) Register now