Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) has announced the promotion of Lisa M. Nelson to President of Equifax International, reporting directly to CEO Mark W. Begor, and serving on the company’s senior leadership team.
An established business leader within Equifax, Nelson has held roles of increasing responsibility since 2011, with a significant track record of successfully positioning regions for growth. In her current role as Group Managing Director of Equifax Australia/New Zealand, a critical market for Equifax, Nelson has focused on driving comprehensive transformation, deepening customer relationships, and designing innovative new products to meet customer’s needs. In her prior role as president of Equifax Canada, she also accelerated growth and innovation, nearly tripling its growth rate while expanding margin results. Nelson joined the company in 2011 as Vice President of Enterprise Alliances for the US business. In that role, she developed and expanded robust new partner distribution channels and drove strong core growth.
“Lisa is an impressive global leader who is laser focused on customers, driving growth, and developing her team,” said Mark Begor, Equifax CEO. “She is a strong, authentic leader with a proven track record of inspiring teams to achieve results and deliver for our customers. Lisa has clearly demonstrated her ability to develop and deliver on strategic priorities and drive core growth in two significant regions within Equifax. I am energized to have her leading our International team.”
In her role as President of International, Nelson will be responsible for leading the company’s footprint outside the U.S. in five regions and 23 countries, including Canada, Latin America, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, India and other emerging markets. A diverse global business by region, her primary focus will be on advancing and leveraging the Equifax cloud technology transformation for growth, and building new product and innovation pipelines to accelerate revenues.
Equifax also announced that Melanie Cochrane will replace Nelson as Group Managing Director of Equifax Australia/New Zealand based in Sydney. Cochrane joins Equifax after a very successful career with American Express where she most recently served as General Manager of Merchant Services for Asia Pacific. Previously, she led Corporate Payments in the region and the American Express Global Digital Services Transformation Program.
“Melanie brings a wealth of financial services experience developed during her career spanning Australia, the US, and Asia,” said Lisa M. Nelson, President of International, Equifax. “She is a growth-focused leader who has led both B2B and B2C businesses. Her experience in transformation, innovation and customer experience will prove invaluable as we complete our cloud transformation in Australia/New Zealand, accelerate innovation and grow with our customers.”
Cochrane excels in collaborative leadership with an ability to work closely with strategic business partners and customer leadership while successfully leading and developing large teams. She has been a driver of inclusion and diversity, having founded the American Express PRIDE network and acted as a Gender Diversity leader for the company. She completed her Business Studies degree at Brighton University in the UK and is a Graduate of the Australia Institute of Company Directors. Melanie currently resides in Sydney and will lead the Australia/New Zealand team from the Equifax headquarters there.
