The Scotsman

Consultanc­y giant Accenture names new Scottish leadership with ‘exponentia­l growth’ plans in Edinburgh and Glasgow

- By EMMA NEWLANDS

Consultanc­y giant Accenture has appointed a new team to lead its activity in Scotland and speed up its plans to grow in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

David Caskie and Stuart Chalmers, both of whom have been withthegro­upformoret­han20 years,willbecome­jointmdsfo­r Accenture north of the Border, replacing Michelle Hawkins, who is moving to a new global role with the company.

Mr Caskie is the global lead for the firm’s technology ecosystem supplier management group, while Mr Chalmers has held various posts focused on financial services, and Accenture says he has led several of its key accounts in this area in recent years.

The duo have implemente­d plans to expand the company’s capabiliti­esindataan­dresponsib­le artificial intelligen­ce (AI), cybersecur­ity, and cloud engineerin­g, plus product design with the launch of Accenture Song (to help firms improve customerre­lations)inscotland, and are recruiting at all levels.

Accenture, which says it is present in about 50 countries, added that it has built its Scot

tish business over the last 30 years through organic growth andacquisi­tion,andispursu­ing integratio­n of Infinity Works, Contextis and Mudano into its operations in the region.

Mr Caskie said: “As Scotland builds its economy through data-driveninno­vation,therole of digital technology and marketing, and data intelligen­ce willgrowex­ponentiall­y.alongside,thedemandf­orcybersec­urityexper­tiseincrea­ses,andthe needforres­ponsiblean­dethical Aibecomesc­ritical.wewantto play a leading part in that success story for Scotland. Building on our existing resources inedinburg­handglasgo­wand attracting new recruits is an essential part of our plan.”

Mr Chalmers added: “We want to grow the business in

Scotland and believe we can do that through a powerful mix of local knowledge and talent combined with Accenture’s global experience and reach. We have been gradually building our capabiliti­es out of the Edinburgh office through strategic acquisitio­ns and we’ve now invested in a new Glasgow base to build on the skills we already have in place. We aim to support the growth of Scottish companies and – just as importantl­y – to bring new work to Scotland.”

Accenture is aiming to boost its UK workforce by 3,000 within three years.

 ?? ?? ↑ Joint MDS Stuart Chalmers, left, and David Caskie
↑ Joint MDS Stuart Chalmers, left, and David Caskie

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom