In a video interview with The Street, Acxiom Corp. CEO Scott Howe said that data privacy is "incredibly important" and that the company wants to have a hand in crafting privacy legislation.
Howe, named CEO of the data services company last year, said the company has been a leader in data privacy.
"Ensuring that consumers have visibility and control over how their data is utilized is incredibly important," he said. "Acxiom was the first company in the world to have a chief privacy officer. There isn’t a piece of privacy legislation written that Acxiom hasn’t had a voice in.
"So we want to not only stay ahead of the regulations but have a hand in crafting the regulations."
Howe also talked about the company’s $30 million investment in research and development, which includes hiring 300 software developers, a story Arkansas Business first broke in February.
Acxiom is already seeking 170 of the 300 jobs, and will recruit from some of central Arkansas’ universities.
The hiring comes as Acxiom is faced with increasing pools of data that its clients, which include major advertisers and Fortune 500 companies, want to access. Howe said the investment means Acxiom will be able to offer clients more breadth in terms of accessible data and how that data is used.
Click below to watch the full interview with Howe, who also talks about protecting Acxiom’s market share and data from social media.
In January, Acxiom reported third-quarter profit down 62 percent to $7.9 million as revenue dropped 2 percent to $280.8 million.
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