Manish Sharma succeeds Jo Deblaere as COO of Accenture

14 February 2022 Consultancy.in

Accenture has named the India-based executive Manish Sharma as its next Chief Operating Officer. He steps into the shoes of fellow company veteran Jo Deblaere.

Bengaluru-based Manish Sharma has been with Accenture for 27-year veteran, climbing the ranks to become a member of the Global Management Committee and currently serving as Chief Executive for Accenture Operations – in the role he is responsible for leading a team of over 140,000 people worldwide.

Effective March 1, 2022, Sharma assumes the role of Chief Operating Officer, with responsibility for leading Accenture’s business operations, protecting the company’s people and infrastructure and ensuring operational excellence.

Manish Sharma, Chief Operating Officer. Accenture

Sharma joined Accenture in 1995 and became a managing director in 2004. The Mumbai University graduate previously held the roles of group operating officer for Accenture Operations, and senior managing director for Accenture Operations Global Delivery and Solution Development and global sales lead for Accenture Operations Business Process Outsourcing.

Commenting on the appointment, Julie Sweet, chair and CEO of Accenture, said: “Manish brings enormous expertise and extensive knowledge of what our clients need and how to digitally transform. In his new role, Manish’s client centricity will continue to build our shared success with our clients as we help them transform every area of their businesses.”

His predecessor Deblaere has served as chief operating officer since 2009. Following a 38-year career at Accenture, the Belgian national will retire on September 1, 2022.

“It is simply impossible to capture the scope and heart of my career journey or sufficiently thank the incredible people who’ve been with me along the way,” said Deblaere. “I’m delighted to welcome Manish to the role. We have worked closely for many years, so I know very well how fortunate we are to have him step into this role.”

Sweet: “I am deeply grateful for the tremendous impact that Jo has made in his nearly four decades at Accenture, and for the essential role he has played in our evolution during one of the most transformative periods in our history.”