Accenture looks in-house for next general counsel

Accenture is promoting Joel Unruch to the post of general counsel, secretary and chief compliance officer (CCO) at the professional services firm.

Unruch will succeed Chad Jerdee, who according to Accenture is taking on a newly created role to head up the firm’s global strategy and programs focused on responsible business, corporate sustainability and citizenship. The changes will take effect on September 1, 2019. Jerdee has been Accenture’s general counsel and CCO since 2015.

In his new role, Unruch will lead the company’s legal team, act as principal counsel to senior leadership and the board, and manage the company’s legal, compliance and ethics programs. He will be a member of the firm’s global management committee.

He is at present senior managing director, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary with the firm. In that role he is responsible for Accenture’s corporate governance activities, working with the board of directors. He also leads the legal team’s activities in connection with global M&A, strategic minority investments and its ecosystem and alliances practice.

Before joining Accenture in 2011, Unruch was corporate counsel at Amazon.com, and before that was an associate at Cravath Swaine & Moore.

‘Joel brings to the role of general counsel, secretary and [CCO] a proven track record of leadership across our legal function, as well as broad business and legal experience,’ says interim CEO David Rowland in a statement. ‘He has served as a trusted adviser to our board and key leaders across different parts of our business and will be a great addition to our senior leadership team.’

He adds: ‘I am delighted that Chad is stepping into this new role to drive even greater leadership for Accenture around responsible business – a commitment that has always been fundamental to how we operate and is increasingly important given the pace of technology innovation.’