Accenture and Auburn University Create Professorship in Honor of Retired Accenture Chairman Joe Forehand

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering have established the Joe W. Forehand/Accenture Distinguished Professorship. Made possible by a $1 million gift from Accenture, the endowed professorship is named in honor of the global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company’s retired chairman and 1971 Auburn graduate Joe Forehand.

The Joe W. Forehand/Accenture Distinguished Professorship was created to honor Forehand’s dedication, leadership and service to Accenture, its employees and shareholders.

“Joe’s legacy, like that of great universities, is one of educating, energizing and inspiring those around him,” said William D. Green, Accenture’s chairman and CEO. “This professorship is a fitting tribute to Joe who, during his more than 30 years with Accenture, personified the highest values and character while giving so much of himself to the company and to our people.”


The goal of the Joe W. Forehand/Accenture Distinguished Professorship is to recruit, retain and support distinguished and internationally recognized faculty with a record of excellence in instruction, research and service in industrial and systems engineering. Specifically, its role will be to strengthen and enhance Auburn’s industrial and systems engineering program through the quality of teaching and research activities.


“This professorship reflects Joe’s commitment to the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and his well-known love for Auburn,” said Dean Larry Benefield. “We appreciate this gift from Accenture and the doors it will open within the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.”


Raised in Alexander City, Ala., Forehand graduated from Auburn with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering in 1971. He received a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University in 1972, as well as an honorary doctorate of management.


Forehand joined Accenture in 1972 in its Atlanta office and became a partner 10 years later. He served as Accenture’s CEO from November 1999 through August 2004, leading the company through a period of significant change and growth. During that time, Accenture grew from 66,000 employees and $9.6 billion in net revenues to 103,000 employees and $13.7 billion in net revenues. It was under Forehand’s leadership that the company moved from a conventional consulting model to a focus on business consulting, technology leadership and outsourcing. Forehand also oversaw the company’s change from partnership form to a corporate structure, as well as its IPO and listing on the New York Stock Exchange in July 2001. He was named Accenture chairman in February 2001 and held that post until he retired in August 2006.


“So much of what I have achieved and what I have become - as a man and a professional - is due to the foundation of my education at Auburn,” said Forehand. “I am very proud to be honored in this public, yet very personal, way by an institution that had such an impact on me and my success.”