Former Mastercard chief joins Equifax board

Equifax, still doing damage control after a massive data breach last year, has beefed up its board by adding a former CEO of Mastercard as an independent director.

Robert Selander was named an independent director on Wednesday as the Atlanta company expanded its board to 12 members from 11. All directors are deemed independent by corporate governance rules.

Selander “will provide valuable insights with respect to our global efforts to rebuild trust with our stakeholders while ensuring long-term business success,” Equifax Chairman Mark Feidler said in a news release.

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

Equifax announced the breach in September; the hacking incident compromised the personal information of about 148 million Americans according to the company's latest estimates. The company continues to be the focus of probes by federal, state and local government officials for events related to the cyberattack.

The leadership ranks at Equifax have undergone changes since the data breach. Rick Smith took early retirement as CEO of Equifax after he faced criticism for notifying the public of the breach more than a month after he found out about it. Shortly after the data breach was announced, Feidler was appointed chairman and Paulino do Rego Barros Jr., was named interim CEO. A former CEO of Broadcom, Scott McGregor, was later appointed to the board.

Selander, 67, was CEO of Mastercard from 1997 to 2010; the Purchase, N.Y., company held its IPO in May 2006. Selander previously worked for Citibank, including a stint managing parts of Citi’s consumer financial services business.

Selander is the chairman of HealthEquity, a Draper, Utah, company that provides custodial services for health savings accounts; and he is a director of Western Union.