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An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article
Keywords Rebranding, Organizational restructuring Corporate branding, Consultants
Abstract This article analyzes Accenture's reincarnation by pinpointing the main lessons that might be emulated by other companies contemplating going down the three-pronged road to rebranding, restructuring and repositioning. Its objectives are three-fold. First, it traces the company's heritage and highlights that it pioneered the splitting of consulting from accounting activities. Second, it discusses the three pillars of Accenture's transformation involving rebranding, restructuring and repositioning campaigns. Finally, it recognizes Accenture's two leaders who transformed this company from merely good to truly great in a relatively short time.
Introduction
Accenture is the world's leading provider of management and technology consulting services and solutions. Accenture's consultants are talented, well trained professionals (Management Today, 2001; Henkoff, 1993). They serve 86 of the Fortune Global 100 and more than half of the Fortune Global 500. The top ten clients are retained for an average of 20 years thereby generating approximately $125 million apiece in annual billings (Adiga et al., 2002).
Global colossus
Accenture is a global colossus employing approximately 75,000 professionals spread across 110 offices in 47 countries. It garners more than $10 billion in annual revenue from its global clients. In fiscal year 2000, approximately 50 percent of its revenue was generated from the Americas, 38 percent in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India, and 8 percent in the Asia/Pacific region.
This article analyzes the reincarnation of the global consulting giant by pinpointing the main lessons that might be emulated by other companies contemplating going down the three-pronged road to rebranding, restructuring and repositioning. Its objectives are three-fold. First, it traces the company's heritage and highlights that it pioneered the splitting of consulting from accounting activities. Second, it discusses the three pillars of Accenture's transformation involving rebranding, restructuring and repositioning campaigns. Finally, it recognizes Accenture's two leaders who transformed this company from merely good to truly great in a relatively short time.
Overview: a pioneer in splitting consulting from accounting
This section traces the company's roots from its inception to its meteoric rise. In 1913, Arthur Andersen teamed up with fellow accountant Clarence Delany to establish the public accounting firm...