NEW YORK–Target Corp Chief Information Officer Beth Jacob is resigning effective Wednesday as the retailer overhauls its information security and compliance division in the wake of a massive pre-Christmas data breach.Target chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel said in a statement released to The Associated Press that the company will search for an interim chief information officer who can help guide the company through the transformation.
Jacob had been in her current role since 2008 and oversaw teams in the US and India.Target disclosed on December 19 that the data breach compromised 40 million credit and debit card accounts between November 27 and December 15. Then on January 10 it said hackers also stole personal information–including names, phone numbers as well as e-mail and mailing addresses–from as many as 70 million customers.
Target, based in Minneapolis, also plans to look outside the company for a chief information security officer and a chief compliance officer. Before the overhaul, information security functions were split among a variety of executives.Target's new chief information security officer will centralise those responsibilities, the company said.
Target is still grappling with the fallout of the theft. The company said last week that its profit for the fourth quarter fell 46 per cent on a revenue decline of 5.3 per cent as the breach scared off customers.
AP