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Julie Sweet, Chief Executive Officer of Accenture North America

Published on15 MAR 2019

Accenture North America CEO Julie Sweet discusses her path from practicing attorney to corporate leader and her perspectives on the most significant trends driving the technological transformation of the economy – from AI to 5G.

On taking risks: “I often will counsel leaders that if you feel comfortable, then you probably aren’t pushing yourself enough and you’re probably not pushing the business enough either. And it’s really become a litmus test…. So thinking about it that way instead abstractly - like I need to take risks, I think it’s been a key to having people think differently and also be comfortable with, yes, there should be a little bit of a knot in the pit of your stomach, right? Or again you’re not challenging yourself.”

On being an innovative leader: “When I’m talking to the CEOs who are thinking about doing new things, it’s never about the technology, it’s about how prepared are you as a company and how prepared are your leaders. Because you can bring the coolest new solution, but if you don’t have a leader that’s willing to think differently and able to bring people along on a journey, you’re not going to be able to change. You won’t be successful. And so I think as we look at leadership, the ability to continuously learn has to be a leadership characteristic.”
 

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