Equifax Inc., the consumer credit bureau under federal scrutiny after a hack exposed personal data for nearly half the country, appointed a General Electric veteran as its new chief executive officer.
Mark Begor, 59, will assume the top role at Atlanta-based Equifax on April 16, succeeding interim chief Paulino do Rego Barros, who took over when Richard Smith stepped down amid a backlash over both the summer 2017 cyberattack and his company’s response to it.
Begor will be tasked with restoring the firm’s tarnished reputation amid scrutiny over corporate handling of consumer data that has only increased since the Equifax breach. In that incident, which occurred over the summer of 2017 but wasn’t reported until September, hackers gained access to data including driver’s license and Social Security numbers for more than 145 million people.
Earlier this month, one of the firm’s former executives was indicted on a charge of insider trading when federal investigators said he sold nearly $1 million of his stock in the firm after learning of the breach before it was made public. Technology stocks, meanwhile, have plummeted as lawmakers on both sides of the Atlantic pressed social media giant Facebook for answers on how a consulting firm linked to Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign accessed personal information for millions of the platform’s users.
“I will prioritize continuing our team’s efforts to communicate transparently and restore confidence with consumers, customers, shareholders, and policymakers,” Begor said in a statement. “Most critically, we will continue to invest in and strengthen our information technology and data security. As a custodian of consumer and customer information, protecting that data is a central priority for Equifax, and for me, personally.”
Most recently a managing director at private equity firm Warburg Pincus, Begor spent more than three decades at Boston-based GE, leading its credit-card business for nine years. He also serves on the board of FICO, the predictive analytics firm behind popular credit-scoring systems.
As Equifax’s CEO, Begor will be paid $1.5 million a year with the opportunity for a cash bonus of twice as much, according to a regulatory filing. He’s also receiving stock awards valued at as much as $17 million, subject to time and performance limits, though the board has a clawback option covering oversight failures that cause harm to the company’s finances or reputation.
Begor “is a highly accomplished executive with a long track record of successful leadership across a variety of global industries relevant to our business,” said Equifax chairman Mark Fiedler, who led a months-long process to find a successor for Smith.
Barros, who held the post on a temporary basis, will advise the new CEO during his transition, then retire at the end of next January.
Equifax climbed 2.3 percent to $119.04 in New York trading on Wednesday, paring its losses since reporting the breach to 17 percent. The initial disclosure, which forced the company to add workers to keep up with the volume of calls from consumers worried about potential identity theft, was followed by contentious Congressional hearings.
In the aftermath of those, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, called for Congress to set strict cybersecurity standards for Equifax as well as rivals Experian and TransUnion and allow government regulators to fine them when they fall short.
