NEW YORK, NY — Columbia Business School’s W. Edwards Deming Center for Quality, Productivity, and Competitiveness proudly announces that Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes, Inc., and Julie Sweet, chair and CEO of Accenture, are the 2024 recipients of the prestigious Deming Cup for Operational Excellence. As the award marks its 15th anniversary, it continues to celebrate leaders who exemplify operational excellence and foster a culture of continuous improvement within their organizations.
“This milestone anniversary of the Deming Cup underscores the enduring impact of W. Edwards Deming’s philosophy on leadership and operational excellence,” said Columbia Business School Dean and David and Lyn Silfen Professor of Business, Costis Maglaras. “For 15 years, the Deming Cup has honored trailblazing leaders who have transformed industries and inspired innovation. Their engagement with our students, faculty, and alumni enriches our community, bridging the gap between academic insight and real-world leadership.”
The selection of the awardees was made by a distinguished 46-member committee comprising luminaries from both industry and academia. The committee chairs, Terry Lundgren, founder and CEO of TJL Advisors and retired chair and CEO of Macy’s, Inc., Sam Palmisano, chair of the Center for Global Enterprise and former chair, president, and CEO of IBM, and Angela Quintero, managing director of the Deming Center, expressed their deep respect for this year's honorees. Quintero noted, "Beth Ford and Julie Sweet are paragons of operational excellence, visionary leadership, and innovation. Their achievements honor Deming’s legacy and set a high standard for future leaders dedicated to driving sustainable growth and continuous improvement."
Nelson Fraiman, professor and director of the W. Edwards Deming Center, added, “We celebrate Beth Ford and Julie Sweet for their transformative leadership, commitment to technological advancement, environmental stewardship, and dedication to workforce development. Accenture and Land O'Lakes epitomize the principles of continuous improvement, reinforcing our belief that operational excellence is key to long-term success. By honoring Beth and Julie, we not only pay tribute to Deming's lasting contributions, but also inspire our students—future leaders and innovators—to carry forward his legacy of excellence.”
Since 2018, Ford has been president and CEO of Land O’Lakes, Inc., both a Fortune 200 company and a century-old farmer and retail member-owned cooperative. For Ford, securing the global food supply chain starts with driving awareness of farmers’ and farming communities’ direct support of global food production. Ford is a powerful advocate for agriculture, addressing critical challenges facing farmers today. She emphasizes how insufficient connectivity, water scarcity, labor shortages, and trade issues are hampering farmers’ capacity to meet the food demands of a growing global population. Ford recognizes these factors as fundamental to food production and global security, requiring urgent and substantial attention. Leveraging her position and the influence of Land O’Lakes’ cooperative system, Ford actively champions key policy areas including trade, infrastructure development, immigration reform, and the passage of a new Farm Bill. Her advocacy aims to strengthen the agricultural sector and ensure its ability to meet future food security challenges.
“I am honored and grateful to be recognized for the work we are doing at Land O’Lakes with our members at the center of our strategy and our execution,” said Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes. My goal has always been to deliver financial performance and continuous improvement amid constant disruption and challenging operating environments. At Land O’Lakes, this work is supported by our talented team who ensure our members’ success comes first. This work has taught me one of the most important lessons of my life: To choose a job where you can affect people’s lives -- even if you never meet them.”
In an age when continuous reinvention is essential across every region and industry, Sweet leads by example. Her tenure as chair and CEO of Accenture, since 2021 and 2019, respectively, illustrates vividly how organizations can navigate change through technology, data, and AI, while positively impacting society and the planet. Across Accenture’s vast global portfolio of clients in almost every industry, Sweet helps the world’s most influential companies navigate change in a way that is deeply people-centric, helping them deliver greater sustainability, diversity and inclusion, talent, and financial outcomes – what Accenture calls “360° value.” Sweet leads from the front, showcasing Accenture as “its own best credential” of cutting-edge tech, people-centricity, and 360° value creation. This speaks to the spirit of active innovation and continuous disruption that has defined Sweet’s leadership and strongly positions Accenture for sustainable growth into the future.
“I am honored to receive the coveted 2024 Deming Cup alongside Beth Ford, an incredible leader whose leadership I have been privileged to see up close,” said Julie Sweet, chair and CEO of Accenture. This award is especially meaningful to me as a proud alumna of Columbia University. Thank you for the recognition of the more than 774,000 Accenture people who strive every day to create 360° value for our clients, executing our strategy with rigor and accountability, continuously improving our company and communities as we deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity.”
Founded in 1993 at Columbia Business School, The W. Edwards Deming Center promotes operational excellence in academia and business by sponsoring applied research and curriculum creation, disseminating best practices, and providing professional development opportunities for practitioners.
Previous winners of the Deming Cup include*: David Abney, chair and CEO of UPS; Juan Ramón Alaix, CEO of Zoetis; Douglas Baker, chair and CEO of Ecolab; Mary Barra, chair and CEO of General Motors; Michele Buck, chair, president and CEO of The Hershey Company; David Cote, chair and CEO of Honeywell; Kenneth Chenault, chair and CEO of American Express Company; Brian Cornell, chair and CEO of Target; Toby Cosgrove, president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic; Janet DiFiore, chief judge of the State of New York; Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health; Ken Frazier, executive chair of Merck; Jeffrey Immelt, chair and CEO of GE; Brent James, chief quality officer of Intermountain Healthcare; H. Fisk Johnson, chair and CEO of SC Johnson & Son, Inc.; Hubert Joly, executive chair of Best Buy; Ellen Kullman, chair and CEO of DuPont; Terry Lundgren, chair and CEO of Macy’s, Inc.; Sergio Marchionne, chair and CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles; Indra Nooyi, chair and CEO of PepsiCo; Samuel Palmisano, chair and CEO of IBM; Paolo Rocca, chair and CEO of Tenaris S.A.; Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott International; Kevin Sowers, president of the Johns Hopkins Health System; Tim Steiner, CEO and co-founder of Ocado Group; Ratan Tata, chair of Tata Sons; Craig Thompson, president and CEO of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Kathy Warden, chair, CEO and president of Northrop Grumman; and Stef Wertheimer, founder of ISCAR, Ltd.
*Titles of awardees are for the year they won the Deming Cup.
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