Accenture is calling its nearly 800,000 employees worldwide “reinventors” as part of a major restructuring aimed at positioning the consulting firm as a leader in artificial intelligence.
Managing director Julie Sweet has already adopted the new terminology in internal communications and the company is promoting use of the label company-wide. The move follows a reorganization in June that merged Accenture’s strategy, consulting, creative, technology and operations departments into a single unit called Reinvention Services.
The rebranding is the consultancy’s second major identity overhaul in three years, after its interactive division transformed into Accenture Song in 2022 – a move widely derided across the advertising and marketing industry.
Damon Collins, co-founder of the Joint agency, spoke sharply about the latest move. “From the people who brought you Accenture Song, now come the ‘reinventors’. Employees will recoil in fear,” he said. “If they think this will resonate with employees or customers, they have something else going on.”
Accenture’s terminology joins a growing corporate lexicon of unconventional job titles: Disney’s engineers are “imaginaries,” Apple’s store support teams are “geniuses,” and MediaMonks’ employees refer to themselves as “monks.”
Industry branding experts warn that reformulating the titles of each role could cause confusion. Gonzalo Brujó, global CEO of Interbrand, said the “reinvention” label only meaningfully applies to a fraction of employees. “Being a true innovator is only a concept for a few people,” he said. “If you expand it to all 800,000, expectations will rise internally and there will be setbacks.”
Accenture’s shift comes as the New York-listed consulting firm sharpens its AI focus and announces a tougher stance on its employees’ skills. Sweet told investors in September that the company would “retire” employees who were unable to adapt to using AI tools in the workplace. Accenture has already laid off 11,000 employees, leaving a global workforce of 791,000.
The company has also reportedly updated internal HR systems to refer to its workforce as “innovators” instead of “workers,” according to the Financial Times.
Accenture’s move reflects pressure on major consulting firms to reposition themselves amid rapid advances in generative AI. But the company is grappling with a complex environment: Its shares have fallen more than 25% this year after Donald Trump ordered U.S. government agencies to review their spending on major consulting firms.
Accenture reported 7% growth in revenue to $69.7bn (£52.7bn) in August, but warned that US federal spending cuts are likely to weigh on the company’s performance next year. Its market value has fallen to around $155 billion.
Accenture declined to comment.
