Edward M. Schreck
Retired CIO
Accenture
BSIE ’71
In recognition of his accomplishments in the consulting industry and his contributions to Purdue’s School of Industrial Engineering
As he grew up in Michigan, Ed Schreck visited Lafayette frequently and always wanted to earn a Purdue degree. His mother is a Lafayette native and both parents graduated from Purdue.
Now looking back on his 27-year career at Accenture, Schreck credits a good deal of his success in life to the mentoring he received from others. In high school,
when his father recommended pursuing a BSIE and an MBA, Schreck decided to take his advice. Then when he was pursuing part two of that plan, one of his MBA professors recommended he interview for Accenture.
“I was fortunate to join such a great company,” says Schreck. “When I joined in 1975, there were about a thousand consulting professionals. Today, Accenture has over 200,000 employees.”
Schreck was so impressed with the company that he decided to spend his career there. He specialized in technology and worked with clients in numerous industries on IT strategy and large-scale, technology-enabled business change programs. He made partner in 1985. By 1991, he was managing partner of the Carolinas Consulting Practice and the South U.S. Technology Consulting Organization.
“I really liked Accenture’s commitment to quality client service, its commitment to training and developing its people, and the way it operated as one global partnership,” Schreck says.
In 1994, Schreck became the global managing partner of Technology Competency, serving as Accenture’s top technology consulting leader with responsibility for technology vision, technology research and advanced development, and technology competency/capability development programs.
“Businesses were just starting to use the Internet at that time,” he says. “It was an exciting period filled with opportunities and challenges.”
Schreck rounded out his career by serving two years as CIO, responsible for all of Accenture’s internal technology capabilities. He retired in 2002.
In the eight years since then, Schreck has been very active in volunteer work. He has helped Purdue’s School of Industrial Engineering since January 2008. He is the chair of the IE Advisory Council. Additionally, he has worked to advance a number of strategic initiatives, including working with senior faculty to define and start up IE’s Evolution and Frontiers Program.
“I couldn’t be happier with my career,” Schreck says. “I was very fortunate to join such a great company. I was also fortunate to have mentors who gave me encouragement and good advice throughout the years. I’m very thankful for that.”
Editor’s note: Although the name Accenture didn’t come into being until 2001, it is used throughout this profile for the sake of simplicity. The “Career Highlights” section below lists the organization’s prior names – Andersen Consulting and Consulting Division, Arthur Andersen.
Career Highlights
| 2000-2002 | CIO, Accenture |
|---|---|
| 1994-1999 | Global Managing Partner of Technology Competency, Andersen Consulting |
| 1991-1994 | Managing Partner of the Carolinas Consulting Practice and the South U.S. Technology Consulting Organization, Andersen Consulting |
| 1985-1991 | Partner, Andersen Consulting |
| 1979-1985 | Manager, Consulting Division, Arthur Andersen |
| 1975-1979 | Consultant, Consulting Division, Arthur Andersen |
| 1975 | MBA, University of Michigan |
| 1971-1973 | Specialist Four, U.S. Army |
| 1971 | BSIE, Purdue University |