Editors’ Note

Overseeing a global business focused on clients in 19 industries in more than 100 countries, Muqsit Ashraf leads Accenture Strategy which helps clients tap new market opportunities, apply innovative technologies, and execute large-scale restructuring and transformation. He also is a member of Accenture’s Global Management Committee. Prior to this role, Ashraf led Accenture’s global Energy industry practice. He has more than 20 years’ experience across the energy value chain, advising and partnering with global energy leaders at most of the large international and national oil companies, oil field and energy service companies, and independents, helping them redefine business strategy, lead large scale transformation programs, and drive innovation. Ashraf leads Accenture’s Global Energy Board of more than 40 global CEOs/CXOs and has sponsored Accenture’s relationships in Energy and Resources with the World Economic Forum, the World Energy Council, and the World Petroleum Congress. Ashraf has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and an MBA from Yale University.

Company Brief

Accenture (accenture.com) is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments, and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth, and enhance citizen services – creating tangible value at speed and scale. Accenture is a talent and innovation-led company with 738,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and the company is one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. Accenture combines strength in technology with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise, and global delivery capability. It is uniquely able to deliver tangible outcomes because of its broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Accenture Song. These capabilities, together with Accenture’s culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable it to help its clients succeed and build trusted, lasting relationships. The company measures its success by the 360° value it creates for its clients, its people, its shareholders, partners, and communities.

How do you describe Accenture’s culture?

The best way to describe Accenture’s culture is to begin with our company purpose – to deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity – and our foundational strategy, which is to deliver 360° value to our clients, people, shareholders, partners, and communities. We define 360° value as delivering the financial business case and unique value a client may be seeking, along with striving to partner with our clients to achieve greater progress on inclusion and diversity, reskilling and upskilling their people, achieving their sustainability goals, and creating meaningful experiences for their customers and employees. We measure our success by how well we are achieving this goal.

Our people are at the heart of that effort; they bring our ambitions and commitments to life every day. They couldn’t do that without a culture of equality, which we believe drives innovation and creates an environment that gives them a sense of purpose, belonging and acceptance. They are supported by a strong Code of Ethics, leadership essentials, resources and support networks that allow all our employees to be their best selves – personally and professionally.

Will you discuss your role and areas of focus?

I lead Accenture Strategy, where we focus on helping clients in 19 industries and more than 100 countries tap new market opportunities, apply innovative technologies, and execute large-scale restructuring and transformation programs. A lifelong consultant, I previously led Accenture’s global Energy industry practice. I have more than 20 years of experience helping leaders of large corporations in a half dozen sectors – with a particular focus in the Resources industries encompassing Energy, Utilities, and Chemicals – redefine their business strategies, drive innovation-led growth, and design and execute large-scale transformation programs.

Will you highlight the history of Accenture Strategy and the value of Accenture’s integrated model to its work?

Accenture Strategy is results driven: We work with boards, CEOs and C-suite executives to define and address their most pressing, strategic challenges in critical areas such as growth, profitability, technology, data- and AI-powered reinvention and transformation, mergers and acquisitions, operating model design, supply chain resilience and sustainability. With experience across the value chain of sectors, we help clients create and execute actionable strategies that come not just from knowing, but from the know-how of doing.

Accenture’s integrated model brings together our unique AI- and data-based insights with our deep industry expertise. This powerful combination allows us to help clients drive value in countless ways: more efficiently managing business functions, capturing the full potential of digital technologies, optimizing and enhancing the resilience of supply chains, and building sustainable operating models and cultures.

Will you provide an overview of Accenture Strategy’s capabilities?

Accenture Strategy has always existed at the intersection of business and technology. Our team combines deep industry expertise and advanced technology and analytics capabilities with human-centered approaches to help CEOs and their C-suite shape business strategies, accelerate growth, build a digital core powered by cloud, data and AI, and optimize operating models and operations to drive agility and resilience.

Our key capabilities span: technology- and AI-enabled transformation, the ability to create value faster and with certainty through our mergers and acquisitions advisory and expanded end-to-end private equity services, the development of innovative growth strategies that are led with technology foresight, productivity acceleration and zero-based cost transformation that rethink priorities and reset cost structures, intelligent operating models for rapidly changing markets, and sustainability and energy transition services for a net zero future. In summary, we help our clients create resilient businesses, drive growth, and achieve their sustainability goals.

What have been the keys to the strength and leadership of Accenture Strategy, and how do you describe the Accenture Strategy difference?

Today, we are collaborating across our ecosystems and partnering with clients like never before. Together, we are harnessing the power of our industry and function networks to deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity. In so doing, we are setting a new standard for differentiation.

This doesn’t diminish what has always made us stand apart. We apply deep industry expertise through a strategic lens, and develop leading, industry-specific insights for clients to help them navigate a constantly changing business environment. Accenture continues to develop game-changing solutions for CEOs and every function of the C-suite – solutions that bring together unparalleled process and functional expertise and powered by full integration with Accenture’s Services – Technology, Operations, Strategy & Consulting, Industry X and Song.

How important is it for Accenture Strategy to build a diverse and inclusive workforce to bring diverse perspectives and experiences to the table when addressing client needs?

Accenture’s commitment to inclusion and diversity starts at the top with our Chair and Chief Executive Officer and our Board. We expect leaders at all levels of the organization to help create an environment that unleashes innovation, allows our people to perform at their very best, and underpins a culture in which everyone feels they have an equal opportunity to belong and build a career – regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and abilities.

Additionally, Accenture’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is also evidenced in our specialized training, networking support, flexible work arrangements, mentoring, mental health resources, equal benefits to same-sex couples where local law permits and more. We know that our focus on diversity is making a difference – for our people and our clients. By respecting our people’s cultures and unique backgrounds, we transcend geographies, drive innovation, and better support our clients everywhere in the world.

What are your views on the future of consulting and how has the role of a leading consulting company evolved?

I have been a consultant my entire career. When I think about the future of the industry, I often think about speed – and more specifically – speed in volatile conditions. Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna once said, “You can’t overtake 15 racing cars in sunny conditions, but you can when it’s raining.” That’s sound advice for today’s business leaders – and today’s consultants.

Business leaders are now facing macro-economic uncertainties, and political and business volatility. They are racing on a wet track. Winning means knowing how to navigate the challenges of today, but also preparing for future opportunities.

The consulting industry must be able to do both. For our part, Accenture Strategy is focused on helping our clients accelerate their reinvention in a world of uncertainty. Going forward, we will continue to help companies think outside of existing models, see around corners and build resilience, embrace change and shape new futures – as quickly as possible.

What are your priorities for Accenture Strategy as you look to the future?

My goal is to make Accenture Strategy the total enterprise reinvention partner for the C-suite by focusing on four imperatives:

1. Partner with CEOs to bring best-in-class industry insights together with cutting-edge technology foresight.

2. Leverage proprietary, industry-specific technology, data and AI – guided by our clients’ best interests – to achieve a differentiated, industry-specific impact.

3. Invest in the next-generation of data-led and technology-enabled Accenture strategists that lead in their industries and emphasize value creation.

4. Unite services across Accenture and our ecosystem partners to create winning technology-powered business strategies and deliver on the transformations required to turn those strategies into client success.