Globe-trotting CEOs often complain they can’t be in two places at one time. But last week, Accenture CEO Pierre Nanterme was — at least digitally.
On Monday, Nanterme went to an Accenture broadcast studio in Paris, where he is based and, in a moment that seems more “Star Wars” than C-suite, had his image beamed to suburban Chicago, where 500 of the company’s top executives were meeting.
At the same time, the professional services firm’s human resources chief, Ellyn Shook, was beamed in from New York. The resulting three-dimensional “holograms” of the two executives chatted with each other about things like the company’s new performance reviews and recent acquisitions, while answering questions from the audience.
It was the second time Nanterme had appeared before employees via hologram, and the first time the company had simultaneously beamed in two executives to an event at the same time.
The company says it has built seven studios with the capacity to capture holograms across the globe and plans to expand its use.
“We’re still pioneering this,” Nanterme said.
He said he thinks the technology could help underscore Accenture’s global management philosophy and highlight its digital focus, as well as simplify communication logistics for a company with 373,000 employees.
“There’s no way I could visit them all. I wouldn’t have enough time,” he said. While in-person meetings are always important, there are other times when “I don’t need to move my body. I need to move my ideas.”
Nanterme’s holograms are not a first in the business world. Former Cisco CEO John Chambers, for instance, talked with holograms of two executives onstage at an event in India a few years ago. Thanks to the technology, the physicist Stephen Hawking made a virtual appearance on the Sydney Opera House stage last year.
But holograms are still exceedingly rare in corporate settings, said Adam Preset, a research director at Gartner. “Accenture really is on the bleeding edge here,” he said.
