Target has found its new chairman and CEO and, as expected, the retailer went outside the company for the first time to fill the position. Brian Cornell joins the struggling retail giant from PepsiCo, where he most recently served as CEO of the company's Americas Foods division. He also has retail experience serving as CEO of Sam's Club for three years and holding the same position at the arts and crafts retailer, Michael's, for two.
Target's issues are well known, including suffering a huge data breach last year, continuing losses in Canada, tepid same-store sales comparisons in the U.S. and a corporate culture in crisis. An email sent by a Target employee and published on Gawker in May said the company was "in desperate need of help, direction and vision, starting from the top down."
As the man at the top, Mr. Cornell has a big job ahead of him. In his first official statement, he said, "I am committed to empowering this talented team to realize its full potential, lead change and strengthen the love guests have for this brand. As we create the Target of tomorrow, I will focus on our current business performance in both the U.S. and Canada and on how we accelerate our omni-channel transformation."
The Wall Street Journal reports that Target is leaving open the president position. An article on the paper's website speculates that perhaps that job will go to Kathee Tesija, the chain's chief merchandising officer, who is viewed as future CEO material at the company.
- Target Names Brian Cornell as New Chairman of the Board and CEO to Lead Company's Transformation - Target Corporation/Business Wire
- Target Picks Pepsi Veteran as New CEO - The Wall Street Journal (sub. required)
- Target Headquarters "In Desperate Need of Help," Says Employee - Gawker
- Target's CMO: 'The truth hurts' - RetailWire
- Should Target cut and run in Canada? - RetailWire