William C. Copacino

William Copacino, formerly a Group Chief Executive for business consulting at Accenture, passed away on May 17th, following a long battle with cancer. Mr. Copacino was a longtime resident of Newton, Massachusetts.

Bill, as he was known to friends and colleagues, was born in Torrington, Connecticut on July 7, 1950. He graduated from Cornell University in 1972 with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. Shortly after graduation, he joined General Electric in its manufacturing management program. Two years later, he and a classmate from Cornell co-founded Agua del Pueblo—a humanitarian engineering venture dedicated to building potable water systems to improve the health and lives of native people in remote Guatemalan villages. The organization remains in operation today, having completed scores of projects that have made clean drinking water available to the rural population of the country.

Bill left the Aqua del Pueblo to enroll in the Harvard Business School, receiving an MBA in 1978. He then embarked on a highly successful business career beginning with the Arthur D. Little Company where he rose to the position of Managing Director and Vice President of the operations management practice.

In 1989 he joined Anderson Consulting, later known as Accenture, as its first direct entry Partner. He became the firm's global Managing Partner of Supply Chain Management and served on the executive committee.

He retired from Accenture in 2004. His last two professional ventures were as Chief Administrative Officer for C&S Wholesale Grocers in Keene, N.H., followed by a tenure as Chief Executive Officer of Oco, Inc., a Waltham-based software company recently acquired by Deloitte Consulting.

Bill is recognized as one of the world's leading supply chain management experts, having authored three books and more than 150 articles on the subject. He's the recipient of a number of prestigious industry awards, including the Council of Supply Chain Professionals Distinguished Service award in 1998 and the Salzberg Medallion from Syracuse University in 2002 for his contributions to the supply chain management profession.

In recent years, he served on the Board of Directors of PRGX Global and Swift Rivers Inc. He was also a member of the Cornell University Council.

Bill was a generous donor to many local and global causes. He served on several charitable boards, including Boston Cares and The Carroll School. He was a board member for The Carroll School for the past 10 years, a five-year stint as board chair. There he spearheaded the school's recent multi-million dollar capital campaign, expanding the facility in order to serve an additional 110 students with language based learning disabilities.

He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Janet Hall, M.D. They have three children: Michael, 23, a 2012 graduate of Hobart-William Smith College; his twin brother Steven, a 2012 graduate of Emory University; and Caroline, 17, a junior at the BB&N School. Mr. Copacino's twin brother John lives in Washington, D.C.; his older brother James is a resident of Seattle, Washington.

Bill was a devoted husband, a loving father, a great friend and a revered colleague and mentor to the many people he worked with. He lived his life with passion, integrity, a great sense of humor, humility and empathy for others. He will be deeply missed and fondly remembered.

Visitations will be held on Sunday and Monday, May 20 and 21 from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at the Eaton & Mackay Funeral Home in Newton. A private family funeral will follow. A public memorial service is planned for September, date to be announced. The family has requested that remembrances be directed to The Carroll School, 25 Baker Bridge Road, Lincoln, MA 01773.

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