Equifax, the consumer-data giant targeted in a hack that exposed the personal data of nearly half the US population, said its CEO is out effective immediately. Richard Smith will "retire" as chairman of the board and CEO effective Tuesday, according to a statement from the company's board.
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Equifax CEO steps down after massive data breach
The Board of Equifax announced Tuesday that Richard Smith will "retire" as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 26, 2017
Mark Feidler, a board member, has been appointed as nonexecutive chairman and Paulino do Rego Barros Jr., who most recently served as president of Asia Pacific, has been appointed interim CEO.
The board will be looking for a new permanent CEO.
The disclosure was swiftly met with criticism because of the delay in alerting the public to the hack, as well as problems with the website that Equifax set up for people to check whether their details were at risk.
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Equifax officials are also reportedly being investigated by the US Justice Department after selling stock before the company revealed a data breach that exposed the personal information of millions of Americans.
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