I think the issue here is that Equifax's systems are in a bad way. They need a new CEO but if they left the current one in the cold, they'd have a hard time finding a new CEO who'd be willing to bear ultimate responsibility for a system they had 0 influence in building. I believe that's the deal with golden parachutes - in the eyes of corporations, there are very few qualified CEO candidates and these candidates dictate terms - the first of which is a golden parachute.