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Equifax ex-boss joins these CEOs that landed on the Capitol Hill hot seat

Former Equifax CEO Rick Smith is scheduled to testify before three Capitol Hill committees this week about the data breach that compromised the personal information of 145 million customers. (JOEY IVANSCO / AJC staff)
Former Equifax CEO Rick Smith is scheduled to testify before three Capitol Hill committees this week about the data breach that compromised the personal information of 145 million customers. (JOEY IVANSCO / AJC staff)
By Matt Kempner
Oct 3, 2017

Equifax's ex-CEO isn't the first corporate boss to feel notable heat recently on Capitol Hill.

Even as Richard “Rick” Smith was getting squeezed by a House committee Tuesday for Equifax’s handling of a massive data breach, another panel was questioning Wells Fargo’s CEO about the bank’s scandal involving fake accounts.

Experts and consumers have mixed feelings about the sudden departure.

Last year, a former pharmaceuticals chief invoked the Fifth when asked about a huge price markeup on a crucial drug. And lawmakers hammered United Airlines’ CEO over the forcible removal of a paying passenger earlier this year.

CEOs have figured out ways to try to limit the damage from trips to Capitol Hill. In fact, a Georgia executive who faced hostile lawmakers lived to lecture about it. Check out his intriguing advice, in my latest Unofficial Business column on MyAJC.com.

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About the Author

Matt Kempner is an award-winning journalist who seeks out intriguing twists about people and subjects beyond what the AJC might typically cover. A former columnist and editor, his past assignments have included business investigations, energy, the economy, entrepreneurs, big business, consumer spending, politics, government and the environment.

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