Experian Plc history, profile and corporate video
Experian Plc is a global information services company, which engages in the provision of data and analytical tools that are used to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers, and automate decision making. Its activities are grouped into four global business lines: Credit Services, Decision Analytics, Marketing Services, and Consumer Services. The Credit Services provides information to organizations to help them manage the risks associated with extending credit and preventing fraud. The Decision Analytics unlocks the value of its vast store of credit and marketing information, as well as other data sources, by applying expert consulting, analytical tools and software to convert data into valuable business decisions. The Marketing Services helps many of the world’s leading organizations target and engage their customers through sophisticated marketing strategies that generate significant return on investment. The Consumer Services provides credit monitoring services to millions of consumers via the internet. The company was founded by John Wilfred Peace in 1980 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.“
“Experian History
In the UK during the 1970s, GUS plc, a retail conglomerate with millions of customers paying for goods on credit, employed John Peace, a computer programmer at the time, to combine the mail order data from various GUS businesses and create a central database to which was later added electoral roll data as well as county court judgements. GUS’s database was commercialised in 1980 under the name Commercial Credit Nottingham (CCN). In 1996 GUS plc acquired the US credit reporting business Experian, formerly known as TRW Information Services, from Bain Capital and the Thomas H. Lee Partners and merged it into CCN.
During the next ten years, Experian broadened its product range to new industry sectors, beyond financial services, and entered new markets such as Latin America, Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe. The business expanded through both organic development and acquisitions. In October 2006 Experian was demerged from the British company GUS plcand listed on the London Stock Exchange.
In August 2005, Experian accepted a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over charges that Experian had violated a previous settlement with the FTC. The FTC’s allegations concerned customers who signed up for the “free credit report” at Experian’s Consumerinfo.com site. The FTC alleged that ads for the “free credit report” did not adequately disclose that Experian would automatically enroll customers in Experian’s $79.95 credit-monitoring program.
In January 2008, Experian announced that it would cut more than 200 jobs at its Nottingham office as it moved development work to India to reduce costs.
Experian shut down its Canadian operations on 14 April 2009.”
*Information from Forbes.com and Wikipedia.org
**Video published on YouTube by “Experian Global“