TJX Cos. is getting on the privacy bandwagon.
The Framingham parent of stores including TJ Maxx and Marshalls - and the target of a record-setting data breach discovered at the end of last year - has given the title of "chief privacy officer" to one of its senior executives and is looking to fill the position of "privacy director," according to a memo circulated by its search firm, Heidrick & Struggles.
The personnel moves follow pledges by TJX and the payment card industry to put more attention on data security following the intrusion. According to the memo, dated in October, the director's main duty will be to "develop, implement, and maintain a companywide (both domestic and international) comprehensive information privacy and security program."
TJX spokeswoman Sherry Lang declined to provide more details yesterday except to note that senior executive vice president for administration and business development Jeffrey Naylor also gained the title of chief privacy officer within the past year. "In today's world, privacy issues are increasingly challenging and are an area of ongoing focus for many large companies, including TJX," Lang wrote in an e-mail.
Giving officers privacy responsibilities has become commonplace for banks, insurance companies, and other closely regulated firms. But retailers have gotten a relatively late start in the area, said J. Trevor Hughes, executive director of the International Association of Privacy Professions in York, Maine, whose board includes the chief privacy officer of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., a job the retailer created last year.
Overall membership in the group has soared to 4,500 people from 300 six years ago, with retailers being a big driver lately, Hughes said, especially as TJX and its competitors rush to comply with new industry standards like rules on how to protect credit card data. "I'm not sure it's fair to say they're late to the game, but there's been significant growth at retailers, and we'll see that continue," he said.
Ross Kerber can be reached at kerber@globe.com.
