Accenture Forms CEO Office, Reshuffles Jobs

Accenture and other consulting firms eliminated thousands of jobs last year as business dwindled and clients cut back on services in the U.S. economic slump. Accenture cut about 2,000 jobs last year, though its revenues rose 17 percent, to $11.4 billion, in its fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2001.

New York-based Accenture, which employs 75,000 people worldwide, said chairman and CEO Joe Forehand and COO Steve James will make up the CEO office and share responsibilities for all group operations.

The management realignment is probably part of a shift by Accenture, which went public last year after being a private partnership, Robert W. Baird and Co. analyst Gary Dean says.

"Maybe they didn't change all the titles appropriately when they changed over to a corporate structure,' he said, 'and they're trying to get their titles correct to reflect how their business is being run.'

The company, formerly known as Andersen Consulting, was once associated with Andersen but has been legally separated from the troubled accounting firm since 1989.

Andersen now has its own consulting unit and is under fire for audits of energy trader Enron Corp., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after allegedly using shadowy off-balance sheet transactions to mask losses. The scandal has put scrutiny on auditing and consulting firms.

Also on Thursday, Accenture named Gregg Hartemayer CEO of its technology and outsourcing group, and Tim Breene CEO of the business consulting group. Hartemayer previously managed the products operating group, while Breene was in charge of service lines and the alliances organization.

Mark Foster was put in charge of the products operating group, replacing Hartemayer. He previously was managing partner for the group's European arm.

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