EQUIFAX NAMES RICHARD F. SMITH CEO AND CHAIRMAN-ELECT
ATLANTA, August 24, 2005 -- Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) today announced it has named Richard F. “Rick” Smith as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman-elect, succeeding Thomas F. Chapman, who is retiring from the company at the end of 2005. Mr. Smith will assume his Chief Executive Officer responsibilities at Equifax on September 19.
Mr. Smith, 45, joins the company after 22 years with General Electric Co. Most recently, he was Chief Operating Officer of GE Insurance Solutions, GE’s global insurance group with $10 billion in revenue and $50 billion in assets in 2004. Mr. Smith led all business units for GE Insurance Solutions, including property and casualty reinsurance, commercial lines insurance, and life and health reinsurance.
“Effective leadership is the lifeblood of Equifax,” said Mr. Chapman, who will remain Chairman of the Board through the end of the year. “Rick’s broad experience as a leader in technology, risk management, and financial services will serve him well when he takes the helm of this fine company.”
Mr. Smith’s career with GE began in 1983 as a sales representative in GE Plastics Business Group. He rose rapidly through the ranks at GE, was named an officer of the company in 1999 and held CEO positions in three different GE business units during the course of his tenure there.
“I am very excited to be joining Equifax, an important global information technology company with a rich and successful heritage,” Mr. Smith said. “This is a company with a history spanning 106 years, built and led by the performance of many dedicated employees throughout the world. Equifax has consistently demonstrated a proven ability to serve its customers, cultivate its employees and create wealth for shareholders. I look forward to continuing this tradition in the exciting years ahead.”
Smith Background and Highlights
- 1983-2005, General Electric Company
- Chief Operating Officer, GE Insurance Solutions, Overland Park, KS
- President and Chief Executive Officer, GE Global Property & Casualty Reinsurance, Overland Park, KS
- President and Chief Executive Officer, GE Capital Fleet Services, Eden Prairie, MN
- President and Chief Executive Officer, GE Capital Modular Space, Malvern, PA
- General Manager, GE Plastics Business Group, Itasca, IL
- Marketing Manager, GE Plastics Business Group, Pittsfield MA
- Sales Representative, GE Plastics Business Group, Cincinnati, OH
- 1981-1983, Sales Representative, Owens Corning, Kansas City, KS
- 1983, BS, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
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Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that relate to Equifax’s future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Future events, risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Those factors include, but are not limited to, changes in worldwide and U.S. economic conditions that materially impact consumer spending and consumer debt, changes in demand for Equifax’s products and services, our ability to develop new products and services, pricing and other competitive pressures, risks relating to illegal third party efforts to access data, risks associated with the integration of acquisitions and other investments, changes in laws and regulations governing our business, including the cost of compliance with the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act and federal or state responses to identity theft concerns, and certain other factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in the Management’s Discussion and Analysis section of Equifax’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, and in our other filings with the SEC. Equifax assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.
Contact:
David Rubinger
Media Relations
(404) 885-8555
david.rubinger@equifax.com
