8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

____________________ 

Form 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 ____________________

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 13, 2016

Accenture plc

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Ireland	001-34448	98-0627530
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1 Grand Canal Square,

Grand Canal Harbour,

Dublin 2, Ireland

(Address of principal executive offices)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (353) (1) 646-2000

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.

On July 13, 2016, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Accenture plc (the “Company”) appointed Nancy McKinstry, chief executive officer and chairman of the executive board of Wolters Kluwer N.V., as a new director of the Company, upon the recommendation of the Board’s Nominating & Governance Committee. Ms. McKinstry will serve until the Company’s 2017 annual general meeting of shareholders, where she will be subject to re-appointment by a vote of the Company’s shareholders.

Before assuming her current position at Wolters Kluwer in 2003, Ms. McKinstry spent more than a decade with the company and its North American subsidiaries, serving as CEO of CCH Legal Information Services for three years and as CEO of operations in North America. She was first appointed to Wolters Kluwer’s four-member executive board in 2001. Earlier in her career, she was a principal with Booz & Company, focusing on media and technology. 

Ms. McKinstry currently serves on the board of directors of Abbott Laboratories.

Ms. McKinstry holds an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Columbia University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Rhode Island, Kingston. In 2015, she was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of Rhode Island.

Ms. McKinstry has been appointed to serve on the Board’s Audit Committee. She will receive the pro rata portion of the standard compensation for service on the Board (currently $100,000 per annum) and the Audit Committee (currently $11,250 per annum), based on the number of days remaining in the current director compensation year. Ms. McKinstry may elect to receive her compensation in cash or equity. She will also receive the standard grant of restricted share units valued at $185,000 made by the Company to directors newly appointed to the Board.

The Company expects Ms. McKinstry to enter into the standard director indemnification agreement that Accenture International Sàrl, an indirect subsidiary of the Company, has with the Company’s directors. A copy of a substantially similar form of the indemnification agreement is filed as Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Form 8-K12B filed on September 1, 2009.

A copy of the Company’s news release issued on July 13, 2016 regarding the appointment of Ms. McKinstry to the Board is filed as Exhibit 99 to this Form 8-K.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits

(d) Exhibits

99     News Release of Accenture plc, dated July 13, 2016

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Date: July 13, 2016	ACCENTURE PLC
	By:	/s/ Joel Unruch
	Name:	Joel Unruch
	Title:	Corporate Secretary

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.	Description
99	News Release of Accenture plc, dated July 13, 2016

EX-99

Exhibit 99

Accenture Appoints Nancy McKinstry to Board of Directors

NEW YORK; July 13, 2016 — Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced today that Nancy McKinstry has been appointed to the company’s Board of Directors, effective July 13. Ms. McKinstry, 57, is chief executive officer and chairman of the executive board of Wolters Kluwer, a global leader in professional information services and solutions headquartered in the Netherlands.

Ms. McKinstry will be subject to re-appointment at the next Accenture plc annual general meeting of shareholders. She has been appointed to serve on the board’s Audit Committee.

“Nancy is an exceptional leader who brings to our board strong experience in the professional services sector from her long career at Wolters Kluwer, where she has led the company’s digital transformation,” said Pierre Nanterme, Accenture’s chairman and CEO. “She will also bring a broad international perspective as both the CEO of a global company and a director of large, multinational companies. We are looking forward to having Nancy on the board and leveraging her insights and expertise as we continue to focus on delivering value for our clients and shareholders.”

With the appointment, Accenture’s board now comprises 13 directors, 12 of whom are external and independent. Mr. Nanterme is the board’s only internal director.

Before assuming her current position at Wolters Kluwer in 2003, Ms. McKinstry spent more than a decade with the company and its North American subsidiaries, serving as CEO of CCH Legal Information Services for three years and as CEO of operations in North America. She was first appointed to Wolters Kluwer’s four-member executive board in 2001. Earlier in her career, she was a principal with Booz & Company, focusing on media and technology.

Ms. McKinstry is a director of Abbott and Russell Reynolds Associates. She is also a member of the European Round Table of Industrialists and a member of the board of overseers of Columbia Business School. Ms. McKinstry previously served as a director of Ericsson from 2004 to 2013 and Sanoma from 2011 to 2014.

Ms. McKinstry holds an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Columbia University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Rhode Island, Kingston. In 2005, she was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of Rhode Island.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions—underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network—Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With more than 375,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

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Stacey Jones

Accenture

+1 (917) 452-6561

stacey.jones@accenture.com