ATLANTA -

Less than three weeks after revealing a massive cybersecurity data breach, Equifax said that chairman and chief executive officer Richard Smith is retiring from those posts effective today.

Current board member Mark Feidler has been appointed non-executive chairman by the board. Interim CEO is Paulino do Rego Barros Jr., who was most recently Equifax’s president of Asia Pacific. Equifax said it will look both inside and outside the company for a permanent CEO. Smith “agreed to serve as an unpaid adviser to Equifax to assist in the transition,” the company said.

“The board remains deeply concerned about and totally focused on the cybersecurity incident.  We are working intensely to support consumers and make the necessary changes to minimize the risk that something like this happens again. Speaking for everyone on the board, I sincerely apologize.  We have formed a special committee of the board to focus on the issues arising from the incident and to ensure that all appropriate actions are taken,” Feidler said in a news release.

“Our interim CEO, Paulino, is an experienced leader with deep knowledge of our company and the industry.  The Board of Directors has absolute confidence in his ability to guide the company through this transition,” Feidler said.

He later added in the release: “On behalf of the board, I express my appreciation to Rick for his 12 years of leadership, Equifax is a substantially stronger company than it was 12 years ago.  At this time, however, the board and Rick agree that a change of leadership is in order.”

Smith said in a news release: “Serving as CEO of Equifax has been an honor, and I'm indebted to the 10,000 Equifax employees who have dedicated their lives to making this a better company.

“The cybersecurity incident has affected millions of consumers, and I have been completely dedicated to making this right.  At this critical juncture, I believe it is in the best interests of the company to have new leadership to move the company forward,” Smith said.