Equifax acquires marketing company BeNow, gets a new CEO

Equifax Inc. has acquired BeNow Inc., provider multi-channel marketing services. BeNow, which counts among its customers such well known brands as Hammacher Schlemmer, Tower Records, General Motors, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and MetLife, provides database management, analytics and support services.

BeNow CEO Brad Neuenhaus will join Equifax as senior vice president, reporting to Owen Flynn, group executive, marketing services. The company will remain The based in Wakefield, Mass.

BeNow becomes part of Equifax Marketing Services, which provided 17% of Equifax’s revenue in the second quarter.

Equifax also has announced that Richard F. Smith will become CEO on Sept. 19, succeeding Thomas F. Chapman, who is retiring at the end of the year after having been CEO since 1999. Smith joins Equifax after 22 years with General Electric Co. Most recently, he was COO of GE Insurance Solutions, with $10 billion in revenue and $50 billion in assets in 2004.