Following is the introduction to a Reuters report which piles inequity upon incompetence, always a nice mix.
(Reuters) – Equifax Inc is reviewing its Chief Legal Officer John Kelly’s involvement in stock sales by company executives made weeks before the credit-reporting service disclosed a massive data breach, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
Three senior executives including the company’s chief financial officer sold $1.8 million in shares within three days of the company learning on July 29 that hackers had breached personal data for up to 143 million Americans.
Kelly had the responsibility for approving the share sales and is also central to broader questions facing the Equifax’s board because he is responsible for security at the company, the WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter. on.wsj.com/2fE8fAf
Kelley had broad responsibilities beyond legal services in his position at Equifax that differed from peers at rival credit-reporting companies, WSJ said.
Equifax was not immediately available for comment.
In a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives, made public on Friday, Equifax said its board of directors has formed a special committee to review the stock sales.
The data breach was disclosed publicly on Sept. 7 and has since sparked a public outcry, government investigations, a sharp drop in the company’s share price and a management shake-up.
Read the full report at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-equifax-cyber/equifax-reviews-its-top-lawyers-role-in-executive-stock-sales-wsj-idUSKCN1C61Y4
JOHN KELLEY – OFFICIAL BIO AT EQUIFAX
http://www.equifax.com/about-equifax/corporate-leadership/
John J. Kelley III
CORPORATE VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER
J. Kelley joined Equifax as chief legal officer and corporate vice president in 2013. He has responsibility for legal services, global sourcing, security and compliance, government and legislative relations, corporate governance and privacy functions.
Before joining Equifax, Kelley was a senior partner at King & Spalding in its corporate practice group, where he practiced a broad range of corporate finance transactions and securities matters, and advised public clients regarding SEC reporting and disclosure requirements, among other corporate governance and compliance matters.
As part of his focus on corporate governance, Kelley was instrumental in helping create the Lead Director Network, a group of lead directors, presiding directors and non-executive chairmen from many of America’s leading companies that meets to discuss how to improve the performance of their corporations and earn the trust of their shareholders through more effective board leadership.
Kelley has been recognized as one of The Best Lawyers in America, one of America’s Leading Lawyers by Chambers, and one of Georgia’s Super Lawyers by Atlanta Magazine.
He graduated summa cum laude from Hamilton College where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and he received his juris doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.
