News
What’s happening in our industry and what we’re doing
I am delighted to be able to share the exciting news of Experian’s intended acquisition of ClearScore. By combining the experience and strength of our global organisation with those of a successful and rapidly scaling business, it’s our aim to create the most compelling destinations for consumer finances in the UK. Today’s announcement is the first step in delivering a pipeline of future products and services that will further improve consumer choice and access to credit in the UK and beyond. Consumer digital behaviour is rapidly changing the way we all access financial services. At Experian, we’re introducing a range of new services that meet the demands of this changing marketplace, helping people to manage their finances in a simpler, faster and more affordable way. Whichever device people prefer, at any given time, they will be able compare offers on credit cards, loans and mortgages to see which product best suits them, helping them to plan and better manage their financial lives. Like us, ClearScore is a leader in digital finances. It’s an incredibly dynamic organisation, with a large, enthusiastic and engaged group of users. Since its launch in 2014 the business has grown rapidly to more than six million users across the UK and South Africa access to a free credit report and scores. It is our intention to maintain the two brands alongside each other – both ClearScore and Experian. We want to offer services that appeal to the widest possible range of people, and each of these successful identities has a role to play in doing that. At the same time, by bringing ClearScore into the Experian family, we’ll be able to combine our skills and expertise to better enhance the consumer experience. Together we’ll accelerate the development of new, innovative products and services for both brands, leading to a better choice for people across the UK and beyond. Justin Basini, co-founder and CEO of ClearScore, has reiterated the importance of the acquisition: ClearScore is excited to join Experian in due course and to begin a new stage in our incredible journey. We will catalyse positive change for consumers as we combine the businesses and build a global business. It allows ClearScore to deliver on our mission - to help people sort their money - even more effectively. We will be better able to scale, more efficiently, with more resources at our disposal and this will allow us to deliver more for the people who matter most to us - our users. Experian is the world’s biggest credit information company, operating in 37 countries around the world, giving us a much bigger stage upon which to build ClearScore. As is common in a deal such as this, the agreement is subject to regulatory approval. Once that’s concluded, we’ll be able to talk in more detail about how and why this combination will help both Experian and ClearScore to achieve our shared goals. Namely, providing more choice and greater convenience to individuals who want to access personal financial products at the best prices, while also making it easier for businesses to connect with the right customers. In the meantime, it’s business as usual for both companies. We are immensely excited by the opportunities the acquisition of ClearScore brings, and look forward to welcoming the ClearScore team to Experian in due course.
Before you read this blog post, I thought providing you with an introduction to who I am might be helpful. My name is Jennifer Schulz and I am a 46-year-old white American woman whose DNA indicates my ancestors originated mostly from Europe with a very small trace from East Asia. I am married to Bob Roback, my partner in life. I am the mother of two incredibly active boys, ages 8 and 5. I am the bonus mom to our daughter (20) and son (soon to be 18). I am a sister, daughter and friend. I am also the very proud leader of Experian’s Health, Auto and Targeting businesses in North America. As #metoo swept social and mainstream media and drove hundreds of thoughtful articles on a whole host of gender related topics, I found myself reflecting and feeling genuinely grateful to be at Experian. During my interview and onboarding process four years ago, I came to realize that Experian had a great culture full of smart and genuinely caring people. It was – and still is – a culture characterized by a strong client orientation and financial performance, and genuinely wanting to do the right thing. It continues to be an organization with a determined focus on improving its diversity at the top. Our leadership knows that to stay innovative and attract and retain talent we have to make diversity a priority. As the global sponsor of Women in Experian and a member of the North American leadership team, I have had the honor of witnessing the progress the company has made as an organization over the last couple of years. We’ve invested time and resources to build out programs, change policies and make our organization even more inclusive. We’ve made progress around the globe: In the last year, we’ve added two incredibly strong women to our Board of Directors – Caroline Donahue and Ruba Borno. They join Deirdre Mahlan who has been on the Board since 2012. With these additions, women will comprise 27% of our Board. We continue to develop a strong proportion of women through our leadership programs globally. This is feeding our future talent pipeline. We launched Women in Experian in 2016 and now have active programs in every region supporting a range of initiatives including enhancing our parental leave and flexible work policies, creating mentorship and sponsorship programs, examining and addressing pay disparity and requiring our recruiters to present diverse candidate pools. Experian was one of 28 companies globally recognized on the Anita Borg Leadership Index of organizations that show strong representation and development of women technologists. We have continued to develop and adjust family friendly policies in a number of countries, aimed at giving given greater flexibility and choice for working parents and families. Although we celebrate progress, we know that we have more work to do. We need to increase the diversity in our senior leadership ranks. We need to increase the number of women in technology. And, most importantly, we need to continue to keep diversity and inclusion a priority. The other night while I was driving my son to his soccer practice, I received a work call. He sat quietly while I talked for a few minutes, well accustomed to my attempts to balance work and life. When I hung up the call, my son asked me, “What is International Women’s Day?” I answered by telling him (reminder he’s 8) that historically women haven’t always been treated fairly and that this day is about honoring and recognizing all the men and women who are working to make things fairer. He then asked if it was my full-time job. Suppressing a laugh, I said no, it’s not my full-time job but it’s an important part of it. He asked, “Why?” Why? I looked in the rear-view mirror and said, “Because I want to try to make the world better for you, your brothers and your sister.” I believe at Experian we are doing just that … making progress. Our momentum is building and tomorrow will be better. #PressforProgress
It’s my great pleasure to announce that, for the second successive year, Experian has been certified as a ‘Top Employer’ by the Top Employers Institute. The annual research programme recognises leading employers around the world. Awarding only those that provide the kind of conditions where their employees can develop, both professionally and personally, nurturing and developing talent throughout all levels of the organisation. Being recognised as a Top Employer two years in a row is a significant achievement, but I am also aware that the journey doesn’t end here. This isn’t the time to take our foot off the pedal. We will continue to develop our working culture, listening to feedback from our team and pushing the boundaries to create the best possible working environment for our people. After our initial recognition in 2017, we set ourselves a challenge to not only retain our Top Employer status this year, but also to improve our overall performance against the institute’s tough certification criteria. It’s down to the ongoing dedication of our UK team that we have managed to achieve this challenging objective. Experian is all about its people. We are committed to providing a working environment that people love, giving them access to the best training, the greatest opportunities and the latest tools – everything they need to progress their career. This award demonstrates that we are clearly on the right path, but we won’t stop here. We’re always looking for new ways to do things and to improve as a business. So by listening to our people and actively encouraging new ideas, together we will continue developing Experian as an outstanding place to work.
Positive female role models are important if we are to transform some of the preconceptions that the public, and more importantly young girls, have about a career in STEM. To achieve this, it’s important that the effort starts at an early age to breakdown the stereotypes and outdated views that certain professions are gender-specific. At Experian, we are committed to empowering more women to become data scientists. That’s why we were delighted to sponsor the Women in Data conference in November, to help inspire, educate and support women into the data industry. Further to that, we are absolutely thrilled to find out that Experian\'s data scientist Berenice Pila-Díez was announced as one of the 20 women in data and technology, a project showcasing women forging careers in the traditionally male-dominated fields of data and technology. We hope that Berenice’s story, along with the others, will act as inspiration for the next generation of girls (and boys) to follow in their footsteps and establish a successful career in STEM.
As Doug Conant, the former CEO of Campbell’s Soup once said, “To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace.” This is quite befitting as Experian celebrates being named a 2017 top workplace for the fifth consecutive year by the Orange County Register. While we work hard to run our business and service our clients, this recognition is a testament to our culture, which emphasizes collaboration, innovation and diversity amongst our employees. “We are proud to foster a global culture of continuous innovation,” said Craig Boundy, chief executive officer, Experian North America. “Our goal is to create a culture where everyone has a real sense of belonging and trust and is comfortable showing up every day, being their authentic self.” Boundy continued, “We’re thrilled with our continued presence on the Orange County Register list as it validates the great work we do every day for consumers, clients and our communities.” Culture of Collaboration At Experian, we get the opportunity to work with a great group of people that truly want to make a difference in the lives of consumers and our customers, Experian employees do this by working to help people do important things to improve their lives and realize their ambitions; such as buying a car or home, funding an education, growing a business or protecting their identity. This commitment to put consumers first comes from our diverse culture and the collective strength of our highly motivated team members who are constantly collaborating to help Experian create a better tomorrow for millions of people every day. At the Forefront of Innovation As part of our work, we have embraced a culture of discovery that has enabled us to grow and evolve while remaining at the forefront of innovation. We continue to have a positive impact on consumers, businesses and the economy with our products, technology and innovations. From finding breakthroughs around better utilizing data, to identifying ways we can make access to credit faster and simpler for millions around the world. This past year has been a year of significant milestones, including our partnership with Finicity, the introduction of our Text for Credit product, and our drive to create a more open and adaptive technology environment by implementing API capabilities across the Experian network. Giving Back to the Community We are equally committed to giving back to our communities by creating better tomorrows. From volunteering with the Jessie Rees Foundation – which helps children deal with cancer – and the Blind Children’s Learning Center. This year Experian also provided a $750,000 gift to create the Experian Assistant Professorship in Machine Learning at Chapman University. This investment is being used to expand machine learning opportunities at the university’s Machine Learning and Assistive Technology Lab (MLAT), where Chapman researchers use big data and technology to address challenges of social significance like autism. The gift is the latest of a long series of collaborations between Chapman and Experian. Several years ago, Experian and Chapman began a partnership that involved placing graduate students to become data scientists in internships within Experian to provide them real-world, hands on training. Since then, the partnership has blossomed to include embedding a Chapman faculty member within Experian to better ground the academic community on how data scientists work within the private sector to better shape their curriculum. We’ve also supported scholarships and programs at Chapman to ensure that the field of data science remains inclusive, diverse, and talented. We’ve also helped with the Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. From the moment the storm hit, our team was already rolling up their sleeves. Our corporate responsibility team set up a donation link right away for employees to make contributions to the South/Central Texas American Red Cross, providing critical aid to families. We were met with an overwhelming amount of generosity from our employees, and raised more than $90,000. Also, we partnered with 14 banks with branches in Texas who provided free credit and identity checks for hurricane victims, along with free memberships to our identity theft protection product. Recognition and Awards We continued to be recognized for our innovation and diversity by leading publications and industry organizations. Experian was named to Forbes Magazine’s Top 100 list of the “World’s Most Innovative Companies” for the fourth consecutive year. The Advancing Women in Technology (AWT) organization recently honored several Experian women at its 16th Annual Scholarship event. We are also one of 28 companies named to the Grace Hopper Leadership Index of companies whose representation and development of women technologists is above the mean. We are very proud to be among this select group of companies recognized by the Register for our positive workplace culture that attracts and retains top talent in Orange County, as well as our other locations across North America. Our employees are committed to helping to create better tomorrows in our communities through social responsibility activities, technology and innovation, and through our everyday work and business purpose.
Amid a shortage of women pursuing STEM careers, organizations must be committed to helping women who have chosen to enter the tech industry and are poised for success in key areas such as collaboration, creativity, innovation, leadership, and transformation. At Experian, we are an advocate for diversity, inclusion, and gender equality in technology functions and beyond. Showcasing the impact women have in the tech community, the Advancing Women in Technology (AWT) organization recently honored several Experian women at its 16th Annual Scholarship event. Keynote Presentation Experian’s president of partner solutions, Jennifer Leuer, was the featured keynote speaker. As part of her presentation, Leuer encouraged the audience to create a culture of confidence to advance women. “This year’s headlines marked a watershed year for women in the workplace. We need to keep that momentum going by creating a culture of confidence in the workplace, with our families and in our communities,” said Leuer. “One of the many ways we can do this is through mentoring. By providing more women with support and varied perspectives, we assist them with navigating new challenges with confidence.” AWT 2017 Outstanding Executives in Technology Award The Outstanding Executives in Technology award was given to Faith Gaudino, Experian’s senior vice president of corporate project management, for her successful career in technology. For nearly 40 years, Gaudino has worked on Experian’s strategic technology portfolios. Her work is key to maximizing Experian’s investments in technology, business expansion, security and business transformation. “What I enjoy most about my position is the diversity of projects that I work on,” said Gaudino. “My team gets involved in everything from acquisitions to rolling out the latest technology changes throughout the organization. This diversity allows me to constantly learn new things. I am proud to be recognized by the AWT and I hope to inspire other women to pursue and continue careers in technology.” AWT 2017 Rising Women in Technology Award The Rising Women in Technology award recognizes women who have successfully established careers in a variety of technical positions such as engineering, software development, business analytics and management. Five women from Experian were given this award: Becky Clay, marketing automation campaign manager - Clay is responsible for increasing response and conversion rates for the company’s enterprise marketing and internal communications campaigns. Sirisha Koduri, web development lead - Koduri leads the development of Experian’s global content management system. Thy Phan, senior marketing analyst - Phan works on email marketing for the B2B businesses across the Experian enterprise. Anjali Pipriya, software development expert - Pipriya helps develop and maintain the Experian lead capturing platform. Amber Garcia, expert project manager - Garcia manages technology projects for Experian’s online and mobile credit products. “In the technology industry, women have a lot of opportunity to have a voice and be successful,” said Garcia. “At Experian, I have gained confidence in my work, grown and found my voice. I feel this award is a milestone in my career that shows how far that I have come.” Experian puts significant effort in attracting a diverse workforce. We are one of 28 companies named to the Leadership Index of companies whose representation and development of women technologists is above the mean. We also participated in the 2017 Wonder Women Tech Diversity & Inclusion Conference and the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Technology Conference.
Organizations everywhere are looking to do more with their data assets, as well as better leverage open data and third party data sources for additional consumer insight. The good news is that there is no shortage of information available. The bad news is that wrangling and making sense of all that information can be very challenging. That is why we see 61 percent of U.S. companies stating inaccurate data is undermining their ability to provide an excellent customer experience. However, there is a new breed of data professionals trying to change all that. New talent is coming into organizations looking to unlock the power of data to transform business operations and better serve clients. Businesses everywhere are eager to bring on these data professionals; to the point it is creating a frenzy around data staffing. If you are looking to hire new data professionals, you are certainly not alone. According to a new Experian Data Quality report, Investing in Digital Transformation: This Year’s Most Sought-After Data Roles, businesses are hiring a mix of business- and regulation-focused data positions. Below is a chart showing the top roles being hired according to U.S. respondents and also c-level executives specifically: There are a few key roles I want to highlight. First, data analysts. They are the most sought-after data role by U.S. organizations, mainly because they are so versatile. They are individuals placed across departments to analyze data in such a way that it can be used for business intelligence. 57% percent of businesses spend a majority of their time analyzing data, and this role is key to ensuring they’re getting the right results. The most important role for c-level executives is the chief data officer (CDO). The CDO has seen a lot of hype in the past few years and at this point we are seeing more general adoption of the role. This individual is responsible for developing and implementing an information strategy, which includes disciplines like data security, governance, quality, and management. They also will oversee a team of data professionals who bridge the gap between the business and IT. We have more research on this role in particular coming out next month, but they will often shape cross-functional data organizations and how well businesses can achieve the data insight they desire. In general, with all of these roles, talent shortages are a problem. Relative to demand, very few experienced individuals exist on the market. This means organizations need to come up with creative ways to attract and maintain this talent to keep up with the changing business landscape. For more information on these and other data roles, download a copy of our new report: Investing in digital transformation: This year’s most sought-after data roles. Download the complete \"The Year\'s Most Sought-After Data Roles\" report.
As part of Credit Awareness Week, Experian and Credit Strategy are launching a new credit refusal pathfinder to help people understand the lending process and how they can tackle a credit refusal. It can be a real pain when you make an unsuccessful credit application, especially when you can’t see why you were refused. “But I’ve got a good credit score!”, “But I pay all my bills on time!”, “But I don’t even have a credit card!” people may say. When you apply for a credit card, loan or even a mobile phone contract, it’s up to the lender to decide whether or not to offer you credit – and they have varying methods to work out if you’re eligible. New research from Credit Strategy, Experian and the CFA* has found a whopping 86% say that they should be offered a clearer explanation about why they have been declined credit. Many people completely misunderstand the credit-decision-making process; 26% of UK adults wrongly think the credit reference agency makes the decision to turn down applications for a loan, while 32% think credit reference agencies decide to approve credit cards. The reality is that lenders decide which customers to accept and refuse, with one or more credit reference agency simply providing information to help the decision. In fact, industry guidelines require lenders to tell people the main reason for refusing credit, but only if they ask. Does being refused credit affect your credit score? The research also found that 75% of the population think that being refused credit affects your credit score. Being refused for credit is not, in itself, hazardous for your credit score. While your credit report will show that you applied for a credit card – it stays on for a year - it won’t actually show whether or not you were accepted. However, credit refusal can often lead to more attempts to get credit – and making a lot of applications in a short space of time could have a serious impact on your credit score, and your ability to get credit in the future. Some common reasons to be refused credit: You’ve missed or made late credit payments recently, which show up on your credit report You’ve had a default or a CCJ in the past six years, which will show up on your credit report You’ve made too many credit applications in a short space of time in the past six months There are mistakes such as incorrect addresses or other errors on your application form You may not fall into the target bracket for the type of credit you’ve applied for Your Experian UK Credit Score tells you how lenders may view you, which is useful when you apply for credit – and is FREE FOREVER. The higher your credit score, the more chance of being accepted for credit, at the best rates. * Conducted by YouGov on behalf of Credit Strategy, Experian and the Consumer Finance Association (CFA), 10th – 13th March 2017
At Experian, we unlock the power of data to create opportunities for consumers, businesses and society. Every day, we help millions of people navigate key life moments, helping them to protect, manage and make the most of their data