Barbara A. Larson
EQUIFAXAbout Barbara A. Larson
Barbara A. Larson (age 54) is an independent director of Equifax Inc., elected to the Board on May 1, 2024. She is Chief Financial Officer of SentinelOne (since September 2024) and formerly served as EVP and CFO of Workday (2022–2024), with prior finance leadership roles at VMware, TIBCO and Symantec. Larson has a CPA background and deep public company finance, accounting and technology experience that the Board highlights for Audit oversight and Equifax’s AI/cloud priorities .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| SentinelOne, Inc. | Chief Financial Officer | Sep 2024–present | Cybersecurity, cloud and AI experience enhances Board oversight of security and technology strategy . |
| Workday, Inc. | EVP & Chief Financial Officer; prior senior finance/product roles | 2022–2024; 2014–2022 | Enterprise software, HCM/ERP and analytics expertise aligned to Equifax Workforce Solutions strategy . |
| VMware, TIBCO, Symantec | Corporate finance leadership roles | Prior to 2014 | Long-tenured finance leadership across enterprise technology . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Public Company Board? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SentinelOne, Inc. | CFO | No board role disclosed | CFO role provides cybersecurity/AI exposure relevant to Equifax oversight . |
| Workday, Inc. | Former CFO/finance/product leadership | No board role disclosed | Prior role coincides with Equifax’s 2024 partnership with Workday; see Conflicts section . |
Board Governance
- Committee assignments: Audit Committee member; the Audit Committee is independent and co-oversees cybersecurity risk with the Technology Committee .
- Independence: The Board affirmatively determined all director nominees other than the CEO are independent; Larson is designated “INDEPENDENT” in the director slate .
- Attendance and engagement: All director nominees attended at least 75% of aggregate Board and applicable committee meetings in 2024; all directors then serving attended the 2024 Annual Meeting .
- Board workload: 4 full Board meetings and 29 committee meetings in 2024, including joint Audit/Technology sessions on cybersecurity oversight .
- Risk oversight: Audit Committee reviews financial reporting integrity, internal control effectiveness, compliance and auditor independence; coordinates cybersecurity risk oversight .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Standard Amount (2024) | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer (non-management directors) | $90,000 | Increased to $100,000 effective Jan 1, 2025 | |
| Committee member retainer – Audit | $15,000 | Audit member cash retainer | |
| Committee chair retainer – Audit | $30,000 | Not applicable to Larson (member, not chair) | |
| Independent Chairman retainer | $150,000 | Paid to Independent Chairman | |
| Larson cash fees (2024 actual) | $70,096 | Prorated due to May 2024 election; includes base and committee member fees |
Performance Compensation
| Equity Award | Grant Date | Grant Value ($) | Vesting | Performance Metrics Tied | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New director RSU (one-time) | May 2, 2024 | $200,030 | 3-year cliff; accelerated on death, disability, retirement or change-in-control | None (time-based RSUs) | |
| Annual director RSU | May 2, 2024 | $200,030 | 1-year vest; accelerated on death, disability, retirement or change-in-control | None (time-based RSUs) | |
| RSU accruals | Various | — | RSUs accrue dividend equivalent units | Not performance-conditioned |
Effective January 1, 2025, the standard annual director RSU grant value increased to $220,000 .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Entity | Nature | Potential Interlock/Conflict Consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Workday, Inc. (former employer; Larson CFO through 2024) | Equifax signed 15 new strategic partnerships in 2024, including with Workday (integration of Workday Payroll with The Work Number) | Overlap of Larson’s former officer role with a strategic partner to Equifax warrants monitoring; however, Equifax’s proxy reports no Related Person transactions above $120,000 in 2024 . |
| SentinelOne, Inc. (current employer) | Cybersecurity vendor (industry); no specific Equifax commercial relationship disclosed in proxy | No related party transaction disclosed; Audit Committee policy governs any future related-party transactions . |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Accounting & Finance: CPA background; CFO of SentinelOne; oversight of finance, accounting, internal audit and IR at Workday; valuable for Audit Committee .
- Technology/Cyber/AI: Exposure to cybersecurity and AI at SentinelOne; AI/cloud enterprise technology at Workday aligns to Equifax’s Equifax Cloud and EFX.AI priorities .
- Equifax industry knowledge: Workforce Solutions and employer services relevance via HCM/ERP domain experience .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Owned | Exercisable Options | Deferred Share Equivalent Units | % Outstanding | Hedging/Pledging | Ownership Guideline | Compliance Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbara A. Larson | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | Prohibited; directors may not hedge or pledge Equifax stock | 5x annual cash retainer; 5 years to comply for new directors | New director; currently below guideline, has up to 5 years to reach compliance |
| Sources: ownership table (as of Mar 7, 2025) ; hedging/pledging policy ; stock ownership requirement . |
Governance Assessment
- Strengths
- Independent Audit Committee member with deep CFO and enterprise tech/cyber experience; supports robust oversight of financial reporting, internal controls and cybersecurity risk .
- Director compensation aligned to shareholder interests via equity grants; prohibition on hedging/pledging and stock ownership requirement (5x retainer) reinforce alignment over time .
- Board-wide attendance met thresholds and engagement with shareholders and governance enhancements (e.g., elimination of supermajority voting proposed) support investor confidence .
- Potential Conflicts/Red Flags to Monitor
- Prior officer role at Workday while Equifax entered a 2024 strategic partnership with Workday (integration with The Work Number). Equifax discloses no related person transactions in 2024, but ongoing monitoring of independence and related party considerations is prudent given the interlock potential .
- Equity ownership: currently 0 shares; however, new directors have five years to meet ownership guidelines; not a violation but watch progress toward 5x retainer .
- Overall: Larson’s finance and technology credentials enhance Board effectiveness, particularly on the Audit Committee and cybersecurity oversight. No disclosed related-party transactions or hedging/pledging, and compensation practices appear standard and investor-aligned for independent directors .
Appendix: Director Compensation Summary (Larson, 2024)
| Item | Amount ($) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cash fees (prorated) | $70,096 | |
| Stock awards (initial + annual RSU grants) | $400,059 | |
| Other compensation | $218 | |
| Total | $470,373 |
Standard director fee schedule: $90,000 base cash retainer; $15,000 Audit Committee member retainer; RSU grants of $200,000 (initial) and $200,000 (annual in 2024), increasing to $220,000 annual RSU in 2025; accelerated vest on death, disability, retirement or change-in-control; RSUs accrue dividend equivalents .