Spotlight on the people leading the way for Avanade and our clients.
As CEO of Avanade, Pamela Maynard is passionate about building a people-first culture for Avanade’s 60,000+ global employees while driving sustainable, responsible growth centered around client success. Under her leadership, Avanade has put its purpose of making a genuine human impact at the forefront of the work we do for our clients, their employees and their customers. She’s also tied our purpose to the contributions we make in our communities and the planet.
A veteran of the technology industry, Pamela has dedicated her 25+year career to helping clients rethink their business strategies by harnessing the power of digital innovation to renew and grow their businesses.
Prior to being named CEO of Avanade in Sept. 2019, Pamela was Avanade’s President of Product and Innovation, focused on defining and delivering innovative solutions for our clients. Earlier in her Avanade career, she served as President of our European organisation and as General Manager of Avanade UK.
Under her leadership, Pamela has continued to expand and sharpen Avanade’s commitment to creating a culture where everyone is welcome to bring their authentic selves to work and where diverse perspectives, backgrounds and skills are valued as critical differentiators in our ability to support our clients. Pamela also serves as executive sponsor of our Technology for Social Good initiative, through which we bring the power of our cloud and digital technology skills and expertise to non-profit organisations, digitally transforming their work and accelerating their social impact.
Pamela sits on the boards of the Royal Horticultural Society and Junior Achievement Worldwide. As a world traveler, Pamela draws inspiration from the varied backgrounds and cultures she’s experienced. When she’s not meeting with clients or inspiring our teams, you will find her enjoying time with family and friends in her native London.
As Chief Growth Officer, Craig Gorsline is responsible for driving the Avanade strategy and critical growth initiatives across all areas of our business. Craig also oversees our Global Technology Business Group, bringing together our world-class technology capabilities and expertise to deliver greater value to our clients and strengthen our position as the Microsoft services market leader.
Previously Craig was President, co-CEO and Chief Commercial Officer of ThoughtWorks, a global technology firm with a digital engineering focus, where he was accountable for driving revenues of more than $500 million in technology and consulting services. Prior to ThoughtWorks, Craig spent time as a senior executive at JPMorganChase in the Treasury Services Technology Group, as well as with a boutique technology consulting firm in Canada.
Craig holds a degree in criminology and psychology from Simon Fraser University and an MBA in digital technologies from Royal Roads University.
As Chief Sales Officer, Michael Roughsedge is responsible for sales execution, strategy, programs and governance for our global sales organisation and client account leadership programs. Michael is an inclusive, people-first leader who builds teams that are skilled at expanding our market leadership and bring the best of Avanade to our clients, from the first conversation to every interaction that follow.
Michael joined Avanade in 2019 as General Manager for the West Region in North America before stepping into a role as General Manager for the South Region in 2022. Prior to joining Avanade, he held leadership roles in sales and delivery at Adobe, HPE, Microsoft and Unisys.
Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Vermont and resides in Snohomish, Washington with his wife and two sons. He is a car enthusiast, and in his free time, he enjoys cooking, traveling and playing golf.
Chief Marketing Officer Ruth Rowan is responsible for Avanade’s overall global marketing strategy, brand and corporate communications. She works closely with teams around the world to support our growth ambitions through building a differentiated brand, value proposition, client experience, demand generation, and engaging external and internal communications.
Ruth has 25 years of experience leading marketing teams across all parts of the technology industry, including cloud, SaaS, security, applications, services and telecommunications. She joined Avanade in February 2022 having previously held senior marketing roles for NTT, Dimension Data and British Telecommunications (BT).
Ruth holds a Master of Human Sciences degree from Oxford University and a Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) diploma. She has lived on two continents and traveled extensively throughout her career, which has fostered her love of discovering new places, peoples and cultures. An outdoor enthusiast who enjoys running and walking with her rescue dog, Ruth brings her #growthmindset to her personal and professional life with a passion for continuous learning. During quarantine she took steps to become a certified sommelier.
As Chief People Officer, Laura Sewell focuses on creating an employee experience that makes people feel inspired, confident and cared for at Avanade. She leads Avanade’s global human resources organisation and is responsible for the full scope of people programs, including talent acquisition, employee engagement, inclusion and diversity, leadership development and more.
Prior to joining Avanade in 2018, Laura spent more than 20 years at IBM, where she most recently served as Global Executive HR Director for IBM’s Digital Strategy and iX business unit within Global Business Services. At Avanade, she previously served as Executive for North America HR, leading the end-to-end experience for more than 4,000 employees across the U.S. and Canada. She’s passionate about shaping employee experiences that drive innovation and collaboration, as well as meaningful business growth.
Laura holds a bachelor’s degree in science education from North Carolina State University. She resides in Florida and enjoys spending time with her family, playing the piano, taking photos and exploring new areas along the coast. Laura is also proud to be a donor and fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities, which provides housing and assistance to families with critically ill children.
As Chief Financial Officer, Sonia Webb is responsible for Avanade’s global investment strategy and management, as well as its financial operations, including accounting, budgeting, tax, internal audit, financial planning and treasury.
Sonia joined Avanade in July 2019 as Global Finance Lead bringing 25+ years of experience, including 22 years with Accenture. At Accenture she most recently had served as Finance Director, North America, where she drove strategic financial priorities across the company’s largest market. Previously she was Finance Director for Accenture’s Communications, Media & Technology business in North America and earlier, a member of the Corporate Development Transaction Services team, where she provided critical financial deal shaping guidance across a variety of industries and offerings.
Sonia holds an MBA in finance and accounting and degree in economics. An avid horseback rider, when she isn’t working, you’ll find her out in nature with her family.
As Chief Operating Officer of Avanade, Amy Wright is responsible for the company’s operating performance and global business operations worldwide.
Amy joined Avanade in 2019 as North America COO after more than 20 years at Accenture, where she started her career in consulting before holding a number of leadership roles in the Commercial Director organisation. There she developed a global, cohesive Operations team on three continents, as well as directing account strategy and planning.
Amy holds a bachelors degree in biochemistry and a Ph.D. in molecular biology. Although you will no longer find her in a laboratory, when she’s not working, you may catch her on the tennis court or enjoying a beautiful day at the beach.
As Executive and Lead for the Integrated Go-to-Market Function, Santina Franchi is responsible for leveraging Avanade’s core areas of expertise for the company’s existing and new clients, helping them build market share, relevance and reputation via Microsoft tech solutions.
Santina joined Avanade in 2023 having spent her career innovating ways for clients to implement technology as a tool for growth. Most recently, she served as Global Vice President for Business Applications for Microsoft, where she led digital transformation for clients and stakeholders using Microsoft Business Applications, Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, and prior to that she led Microsoft Enterprise and Partners business in Western Europe. She previously held senior positions at IBM and SAP, including Vice President for Information Management for IBM Europe and SVP for HANA at SAP EMEA.
Santina holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer science and telecommunications from Sapienza University of Rome. She’s lived across the world – including the U.S., U.K., France, New Zealand and Italy – and speaks fluent English, French and Italian, plus some German. Outside of work she enjoys staying active and spending time outdoors through yoga, skiing, waterskiing and tennis.
As our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Responsible Business Lead, Innes Grant shapes the programs that drive Avanade’s ESG goals, including Corporate Citizenship and our focus on making a social impact through digital transformation. His work oversees initiatives such as our Tech for Social Good program, working closely with Microsoft to deliver repeatable IT solutions for the nonprofit sector, IGOs and other humanitarian and environmental organisations.
With a career at Avanade spanning more than two decades, Innes most recently served as Chief of Staff to the CEO and Global Non-Profit Sector Lead. He’s also held positions as UK Health & Public Sector Lead, UK COO and Head of Growth and Strategy for Avanade in Europe. Prior to joining Avanade, Innes worked at Accenture with clients across a range of industry sectors consulting on ERP and other aspects of core technology delivery.
Innes holds a bachelor’s degree in Laser Physics from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland and completed continuing studies in Strategy and Innovation at the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford.
As Global Avanade X Lead, Jason Hunt brings together award-winning solutions, capabilities and market-leading expertise to drive relevant and enduring experiences that accelerate growth for clients across the world.
Jason has more than 20 years of experience leading sales, delivery and transformation initiatives across the technology industry, including CRM, SaaS, AI, digital marketing and data. He joined Avanade in 2010 and most recently served as the North American Avanade X Lead. Prior to his time at Avanade, he held positions at MicroStrategy, Microsoft and Ascentium. He also flew drones in the U.S. Army and completed deployments to Croatia and Bosnia.
Jason lives in Seattle and enjoys traveling, driving fast cars, eating good food, drinking wine and cocktails and spending time with his family and friends.
As Avanade’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Julia Jessen is responsible for leading the company’s global legal function. Besides being a leading voice in building our thought leadership and reputation in the market around topics like digital ethics, she transformed our legal department’s deal making approach to be client centric and value based, while facilitating growth with best-in-class business lawyering across Avanade.
With a career that spans Germany, England and the United States, Julia has been designing and leading international legal teams for over two decades with a strong emphasis on innovation and simplification. Before joining Avanade as our General Counsel Europe in 2012, Julia was General Counsel EMEA at Sony Mobile Communications and an Associate General Counsel at Amazon. She started her career working at Intel, where she held several legal leadership roles, including supporting Intel’s global Software and Solutions Group.
Julia studied Law at the Ludwig Maximilian’s University in Munich and holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from University College London. She joined the Munich bar association in 1999. In her free time, you will find Julia outdoors on long-distance hikes or hosting dinners for family and friends with delicious food and great conversations.
As Global Delivery Lead, Guy Mather is responsible for Avanade’s global Delivery organization, ensuring that Avanade delivers on its promises to clients through its engagements worldwide.
Prior to his current role, Guy led Avanade’s Europe Delivery team, creating a center of excellence to support improved performance across European engagements. Over the course of his career, which began as a systems engineer at IBM, Guy served as partner in a variety of leadership roles at Accenture, led platform deployment services as a vice president at Capgemini and spent several years as an independent advisory consultant.
Guy holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Bristol. He is passionate about combining walking with his love of history and riding his Peloton bike, not necessarily in that order.
Jillian Moore leads Avanade’s Global Advisory organization, with responsibility for creating and executing Avanade’s advisory strategy, developing and leading our global advisory offerings and capabilities, and managing our strategic engagements with Avanade advisory clients. Jillian is also executive sponsor for both Avanade’s go-to-market strategy for sustainability as well as for our wellbeing initiatives.
Jillian came to Avanade from Atos, where she led the company’s Global Digital Transformation practice. Prior to that she was a client services partner and Customer Engagement practice lead at Slalom Consulting in the U.K..
She holds a master’s degree with honors in advanced computing from Imperial College, London, and a bachelor’s degree with honors in computer science from the University of York. Passionate about mental health and the role physical activity plays, Jillian is chair of the board of trustees of London Sport, a social service non-profit whose mission is to encourage the people of London to be more active. She sets a good example. Jillian is an avid scuba diver and instructor, with a particular interest in underwater photography.
Simon Thomas leads Avanade’s global data and applied intelligence (AI) business, which harnesses the combined power of AI, analytics and intelligent automation to help our clients apply data-driven intelligence into everything they do. Avanade’s data and AI group encompasses data platform modernisation, intelligent industry solutions and intelligent automation.
Simon joins Avanade from IBM where he held regional and global leadership roles in the areas of CRM, business analytics, Digital, IoT and AI, driving sales, strategic growth and delivery excellence. In his most recent role, he was responsible for growing its AI and Cognitive Consulting practice. Prior to his AI work, Simon led business analytics for IBM’s growth regions and built the company’s digital consulting practice in Asia Pacific.
Simon began his career as a consultant and retains a passion for building and nurturing strong consulting practices that earn client trust and deliver value. Simon holds a degree in music, music production and engineering from Berklee College and a master of science in manufacturing engineering from Boston University.
Rodrigo Caserta, president of Growth Markets, is responsible for Avanade’s business operations in Australia, Brazil, Greater China, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.
Previously Rodrigo was general manager of Avanade Brazil, where he delivered consistent year-on-year double-digit growth, expanded Avanade’s presence in the Brazil market and developed a solid partnership with both Microsoft and Accenture, building a strong collaboration model across the three companies that led to years of significant business success.
Rodrigo joined Avanade in 2015 following a career in technology that included 10 years with Accenture. Passionate about leading people and celebrating their development and success, Rodrigo serves as a mentor and coach at Endeavor, a global non-profit organisation that encourages entrepreneurship and supports start-up businesses.
Rodrigo holds a degree in production engineering from Rio de Janeiro Federal University.
Anna Di Silverio, president of Growth Markets, is responsible for Avanade’s accelerated growth and business operations in Australia, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa.
Previously Anna served as Growth Markets’ chief operating officer, responsible for executing Avanade’s strategy and operational excellence across all Growth Markets regions. Earlier in her Avanade career, she was general manager of Avanade Italy. Under her leadership, the Italy region consistently delivered year-on-year double-digit growth, driven by Anna’s commitment to building a high-performing team and diverse workforce; a strong collaborative partnership with Accenture and Microsoft; and a relentless focus on helping Avanade clients realise results, attributes she brings to all subsequent roles.
Anna has 15 years of Microsoft experience, holding different roles and responsibilities in the areas of services and sales, most recently as Microsoft Services Director and as Public Sector Director. She began her career as a networking architecture researcher in the Computer Sciences Department of the University of Pisa. Earlier in her career, she was a software architect.
Anna holds a degree in computer sciences from the University of Pisa.
As President, North America, Eric Miquelon is responsible for guiding the sales, delivery and operations of Avanade's largest business. Working closely with the United States and Canada leadership team, Eric ensures delivery of consistent, high-quality results for Avanade's North American clients.
Previously, Eric led Avanade’s global solutions and delivery teams, as well as our applications and infrastructure business. As part of that portfolio, he led Avanade’s network of digital innovation studios and managed our partner ecosystem.
Eric joined Avanade from Accenture more than 18 years ago, holding a number client-facing, business leadership and partner management roles, including serving as Chief Operating Officer of Avanade Europe.
While he was born and raised in Chicago, you'll find Eric with a mug of Yorkshire tea in the afternoon, a habit he picked up when he lived in the UK a few years ago.
As head of Avanade’s global Advanced Technology Center network, Sailaja Bhagavatula is responsible for all the Microsoft work we do across our global ATC delivery centers and centers of excellence, including studios that specialise in experience design and digital, cloud and agile technologies. The global ATC team includes 30,000+ technology experts, a backbone of Avanade’s delivery capability.
Sailaja is a member of the Accenture Advanced Technology Centers in India (ATCI) leadership team and the Accenture Microsoft Business Group (AMBG) Executive Committee. She also serves as the Inclusion and Diversity program sponsor for Accenture in India. She is passionate about the I&D agenda and has a deep commitment to creating inclusive and diverse workforces.
Before assuming her current role, Sailaja led the Intelligent Platform Services group at ATCI, with responsibility for driving growth, innovation, sales enablement and solution support, as well as overseeing project delivery and helping clients achieve enterprise-wide transformation. She has 23+ years of deep technology experience in the IT services industry, including leadership roles across sales, solution architecture, delivery, practice development and asset/IP building across multiple platforms and technologies.
Sailaja has multicultural work experience across India, Japan and the United Kingdom. A fitness and travel enthusiast, she enjoys swimming and playing badminton with her family, as well as music, singing and playing the guitar.
As Chief Technology Officer, Aaron Reich is responsible for Avanade’s technology strategy, driving innovation across the business and incubating emerging technologies to bring them to clients across the globe. He manages Avanade’s global R&D function, oversees Avanade’s participation in the startup ecosystem and drives our responsible technology approach and digital ethics practice, including for our client work with generative AI.
Aaron joined Avanade in 2012 and most recently served as the company’s Emerging Technology Lead. Under Aaron’s leadership, Avanade has embraced and scaled emerging technology capabilities including the reality continuum, 5G, digital twin, open source, robotics, and OpenAI, working closely with multiple product engineering teams at Microsoft. Prior to Avanade, Aaron worked across the high-tech, non-profit and telecommunications industries.
Aaron holds a Bachelor of Arts in business from the College of William and Mary and currently resides in Seattle. He grew up spending too much time on his family’s Apple IIC computer, which led to his love of technology and its ability to make a positive difference in people’s lives. Aaron coaches and mentors start-up entrepreneurs and has served as President of the board of The Healing Center in Seattle. He was an avid runner before twin boys came along and looks forward to getting back on the trails.
As Avanade’s Chief AI Officer, Florin Rotar drives the global AI strategy and execution across all parts of our business, spanning leadership, sales, solutioning, delivery, capability and our partner ecosystem. He also accelerates Avanade’s internal transformation, identifying new ways AI can disrupt – and improve – how we work, operate and deliver for our clients.
Florin previously served as Chief Technology Officer at Avanade, where he led the strategic development of a portfolio of solutions and services centered on emerging technologies and innovation. He is a member of the Forbes Technology Council and was recognised by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the Top 10 CTOs to Watch in 2023. Florin is passionate about people-first AI innovation and co-authored the book “We the People: Human Purpose in a Digital Age: A Guide to Digital Ethics for Individuals, Organisations and Robots of All Kinds.”
Florin holds a master’s degree in telecommunications engineering from Lund University. He is a world citizen, having lived and worked in 10 countries across three continents, and now calls the Pacific Northwest home. When he’s not busy raising young children, he loves running while listening to EDM.
Laurent Curny is General Manager of our Gallia region (France, Belgium and The Netherlands).
As General Manager, Laurent will lead a team of dedicated people who center their work and efforts around unlocking digital innovation in the Microsoft ecosystem. He will support our clients across all industries to harvest the full potential of the Microsoft cloud platform to solve some of the major challenges we face today, including creating a more sustainable, responsible, and inclusive society.
Prior to joining Avanade, Laurent spent five years at Microsoft, where he held several senior management positions in France working with key accounts. Laurent also spent nearly 20 years in the telecommunications industry, at organizations such as AT&T and Verizon.
Diversity and inclusion are values Laurent holds dear. He has supported and led many initiatives in this space at Microsoft and will continue to do so at Avanade. When not working, Laurent enjoys triathlon.
Sebo Wijnberg has been working as Country Manager (CM) of The Netherlands since September 2019.
Sebo has over 20 years of experience within IT consulting at both Avanade and Accenture. In his last role, he was a senior executive based in Hong Kong responsible for 'Delivery Management' of all Avanade client projects in Asia and Brazil. As a result, he brings a wealth of experience across a vast and extensive multicultural portfolio.
In his role as Country Manager, Sebo's primary focus is growing the business by being a trusted advisor for Avanade’s clients and creating an inclusive and sustainable workplace.
Evert Blaauwendraad joined Avanade in November 2022 and as Senior Director Delivery he is responsible for client project delivery and managed services. Together with his team he helps client to manage and evolve their technology platforms by bringing business and IT together.
Being a people, change and programme manager, Evert has a strong eye for customers and employees. Using his broad experience and incisive thinking he is able to build, (re-)structure and align teams and organizations in complex (international) environments.
In his spare time you will find Evert behind his camera. Using his creativity and communication skills he likes to visualize and bring pictures to life.
Madelène Klaasen Bos is the Sales Lead for Avanade Netherlands. She is responsible for the Dutch commercial strategy and its implementation. As a people focused entrepreneurial leader her goal is to find the best digital solutions for her clients.
With over 30 years of experience within the IT and business development field, Madelene has developed a broad range of skills in commercial management, contract negotiation, IT outsourcing, P&L management and delivering on a growth strategy.
She has a bachelor’s in Dutch Law and a master’s in International Law from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Sabrina Overdijk joined Avanade in the Netherlands as HR Lead on December 1, 2019. In this role she is responsible for setting out HR policies, working with her team on components such as vitality, talent management, reward and appraisal, career development and employee training within the organization. She oversees the organizational culture and ensures compliance with labour regulations and laws.
With over 14 years of experience at Accenture in various HR roles, the last 3 years of which were responsible as HR lead within Accenture Technology, she has gained a lot of knowledge and experience working in a dynamic and innovative environment. The world and technology is constantly changing and requires a flexible approach from HR. This makes for Sabrina the role of HR in a technical environment a great challenge!
As the Netherlands and Belgium Capability Lead, Evy is responsible for maintaining and promoting our innovative and positive culture and also attract and retain knowledge and talent. She beliefs in the uniqueness of each person, bringing individual talents, experiences and opinions together for fruitful collaboration.
Evy has 10+ years in delivery for Dynamics Implementations with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. She is skilled in Business Process Management, ERP Implementations, Management and Integrations.
Evy would describe herself as ‘’Strong program and project management professional with a focus to deliver operational efficiency, adopted by the key resources of your business/our clients - the people.’’
Ryan Price leads the Data & Artificial Intelligence Solution Area at Avanade Netherlands where he is responsible for the full breadth of offerings in this space including Data Platform Modernization, AI & IoT and Intelligent Automation. As the lead solution architect in the Data & AI space, he and his team help clients in their digital transformation journey by implementing industry leading solutions on the Microsoft Platform. As the senior Solution Area lead Ryan also represents all solution areas in the NL management team.
Karthik Narain, chair of the Avanade Board of Directors, currently serves as group chief executive – Technology at Accenture. His role spans cloud, data & AI, enterprise & industry technologies and security, as well as technology ecosystem partnerships and its Advanced Technology Centres. He is a member of Accenture’s Global Management Committee.
Prior to his appointment as group chief executive, Karthik served as the lead for Accenture Cloud First and the company’s Data & AI business. In these roles, he led teams helping clients move, shape and operate their businesses in the cloud and unlock the power of data & AI. Most recently, Karthik helped define Accenture’s approach and establish an early lead in generative AI through investments in its Generative AI Centre of Excellence; new, signature thought leadership pieces; new ecosystem partnerships; and a new data & AI strategy for the company.
Karthik, who joined Accenture in 2015, brings a diverse set of experiences to his role as group chief executive. Over his 24-year career, he has led many strategic and innovative programmes for clients across a variety of industry sectors, including Financial Services, High Tech and Software and Platforms. Karthik previously led Accenture Technology in North America, helping guide Global 2000 brands in using the power of the cloud and other technologies to transform their businesses. He is also an active sponsor in the Technology Women’s Executive Leadership programme, supporting the growth of Accenture’s most senior women leaders in Technology.
Deb Cupp is President of Microsoft Americas, a $70 billion business responsible for delivering the full product and services portfolio of Microsoft to customers based in the United States, Canada and Latin America. Deb is responsible for deepening collaborations with customers and partners across commercial and public sector industries, helping them evolve their digital transformation journeys.
Deb is a collaborative and authentic leader whose focus on re-engineering and optimising processes has enhanced productivity and driven results for the businesses under her leadership. Deb is also passionate about client success and people development with a particular interest in mentoring women in business.
Deb holds a BS in business administration from the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, where she was a Division One field hockey and lacrosse scholarship athlete. In addition, she holds an MBA from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Paul Daugherty is Accenture's Chief Technology and Innovation Officer (CTIO), and is a member of Accenture’s Global Management Committee. As a visionary in shaping the innovation of technology, Paul leads and executes Accenture’s technology strategy, leveraging the company’s leading-edge capabilities and research and development to reinvent the future of business.
As CTIO, Paul also leads Accenture’s Innovation strategy and organisation, including Accenture Labs and The Dock in Dublin, Ireland. He directs Accenture’s global research and development into emerging technology areas such as generative AI, quantum computing, science tech and space technology. He leads a dedicated innovation group that not only designs and delivers transformational business and technology solutions, but also invests in, and partners with, pioneering companies to pilot and incubate new technologies. Paul also leads Accenture’s annual Technology Vision report, hosts its annual Innovation Forum event, and leads Accenture Ventures, which he founded to focus on strategic equity investments to accelerate growth.
Previously, Paul served as Accenture's Group Chief Executive – Technology, where he led all aspects of Accenture's Technology business. In this role, he led the formation of Accenture Cloud First to help clients across every industry accelerate their digital transformation and realise greater value at speed and scale by rapidly becoming “cloud first” businesses. Most recently, he helped lay the groundwork for Accenture’s $3 billion investment in its Data & AI practise to help clients rapidly and responsibly advance and use AI, including Generative AI, to achieve greater growth, efficiency and resilience.
Paul is a passionate advocate for gender equality in the workplace and STEM-related inclusion and diversity initiatives. For more than six years, he has been a member of the board of directors of Girls Who Code, an organisation that seeks to support and increase the number of women in computer science careers.
Accenture Senior Managing Director Grant Ireland, Corporate Finance, is responsible for leading the company’s corporate planning, analysis and treasury functions. In addition, he has responsibility for evolving Accenture’s economic model and capital allocation to support the company’s long-term growth strategy.
A 25+ year veteran of Accenture, Grant has held numerous leadership posts across Accenture’s finance functions. Prior to his current role, he served as finance director for Accenture’s Technology Growth Platform, where he was responsible for leading the financial management and analysis of the company’s application services and software businesses, including the global delivery network and alliance investments across the ecosystem. He has extensive international experience, setting up and managing the company’s financial processes and IT call center support across 14 countries. He also led the company’s finance transformation program shortly after the company’s initial public offering, a role that included the implementation of a single global ERP system.
Grant earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting with honors at Oral Roberts University.
Chris Howarth is Senior Managing Director, Global Lead – Accenture Microsoft Business Group. In this role he is responsible for bringing the power of Microsoft, Accenture and Avanade together to develop and deliver industry leading technology solutions for our clients around the world. Chris is a passionate leader who believes in the strength of strategic partnerships to drive greater growth for our clients and deliver differentiated experiences for their customers.
Chris’ career at Accenture spans more than 25 years, where he’s driven incredible impact for clients and the telecommunications sector before stepping into the AMBG Lead role. As a Client Account Lead for one of Accenture’s largest accounts, Chris led major global transformation initiatives recognised across the industry for delivering both profitable and sustainable growth.
Chris is based in Wales and enjoys cycling and spending time with his family, including walks in mountains and trips to the coast. He is a massive rugby fan and looks for any opportunity to watch them at home or on tour.
As CEO of Avanade, Pamela Maynard is passionate about building a people-first culture for Avanade’s 50,000+ global employees while driving sustainable, responsible growth centered around client success. Under her leadership, Avanade has put its purpose of making a genuine human impact at the forefront of the work we do for our clients, their employees and their customers. She’s also tied our purpose to the contributions we make in our communities and the planet.
A veteran of the technology industry, Pamela has dedicated her 25+year career to helping clients rethink their business strategies by harnessing the power of digital innovation to renew and grow their businesses.
Prior to being named CEO of Avanade in Sept. 2019, Pamela was Avanade’s President of Product and Innovation, focused on defining and delivering innovative solutions for our clients. Earlier in her Avanade career, she served as President of our European organization and as General Manager of Avanade UK.
Under her leadership, Pamela has continued to expand and sharpen Avanade’s commitment to creating a culture where everyone is welcome to bring their authentic selves to work and where diverse perspectives, backgrounds and skills are valued as critical differentiators in our ability to support our clients. Pamela also serves as executive sponsor of our Technology for Social Good initiative, through which we bring the power of our cloud and digital technology skills and expertise to non-profit organizations, digitally transforming their work and accelerating their social impact.
Pamela sits on the boards of the Royal Horticultural Society and Junior Achievement Worldwide. As a world traveler, Pamela draws inspiration from the varied backgrounds and cultures she’s experienced. When she’s not meeting with clients or inspiring our teams, you will find her enjoying time with family and friends in her native London.
Find out more about the people leading the way for Avanade and our clients.
