Accenture appoints Shaheen Sayed as new UK and Ireland boss

Accenture has announced a new head of its UK and Ireland business. Shaheen Sayed will take over the role from Simon Eaves from the start of September 2023.

In the UK, Accenture has an approximate 11,000 staff, along with a further 6,500 in Ireland. As they prepare for a period of major change, while the firm looks to respond to global and local trends by pivoting its offering, those staff will be presided over by a new boss.

Shaheen Sayed will take on the role from the start of September 2023, assuming overall responsibility for all of Accenture’s industries and services in the UK and Ireland. In her new role, Sayed will also become a member of the Global Management Committee.

The incoming Accenture lead for the UK and Ireland commented, “I am honoured to be appointed as the lead for Accenture in the U.K. and Ireland and look forward to working with all our inspiring people, clients and ecosystem partners.”

Having been with Accenture for more than 20 years, Sayed is currently the firm’s UK and Ireland leader for technology, and specialises in leading complex technology and business transformations and pioneering new market technologies. She formerly helmed Accenture’s health and public service business in the region, too, delivering solutions across health, tax, welfare, justice, defence, and policing.

Sayed succeeds Simon Eaves, who is relocating to the US to take leadership of Accenture’s North American strategy and consulting division. Eaves has been with the firm for the best part of three decades, and took on its UK and Ireland leadership from Olly Benzecry, in 2020.

Speaking on her predecessor, Sayed added, “It has been an incredibly rewarding experience working closely with Simon over the past few years and I am excited to now lead and continue to drive growth for our business. Our clients are facing more change than ever and the need to apply innovative technologies that can transform their businesses has never been greater.”

Challenges ahead

Listed in Dublin, Accenture is a multinational professional services company based in Dublin, specialising in information technology services and consulting. Amid growing demand for digital advisory services, and a continued spree of acquisitions that has extended its reach across every continental market there is, the Fortune Global 500 company reported revenues of $61.6 billion in 2022.

However, while the broader consulting firm has also enjoyed boom times in recent years, like many of its largest competitors, Accenture is currently preparing for a more difficult market. In March 2023, Accenture said it would cull 19,000 roles from its worldwide operations – roughly 2.5% of its workforce — over the following 18 months. If that is proportionally carried out across each of its national wings, around 300 of Accenture’s UK staff alone could lose their jobs.

The move comes as economic headwinds continue to impact the consulting sector. While Accenture’s UK wing reported a 5% rise in revenues to £12.8 billion for the three months to February 2023, its profit levels fell by 5.8% to £1.5 billion – as high inflation and rising interest rates continue to bite.