Longtime Target Corp. CEO Brian Cornell will step down in February after more than a decade guiding the Minneapolis-based retailer through major changes.
Michael Fiddelke, 49, Target’s current chief operating officer, will take over the CEO role as Cornell transitions to executive chair.
“Michael knows how our business can perform, and what our team can deliver, and he’ll bring that confidence along with an aggressive mindset for change into the CEO role,” Cornell said in a media call.
Cornell was hired in 2014, tasked with steering Target in a new direction. More than a decade later, he’s lauded for his industry-leading strategies that put Target in a position to compete as sales increasingly shifted online with the rise of Amazon.
But the retailer has struggled since the pandemic. And this year, Cornell was faced with year-over-year sales declines and a boycott after the company backed off from several diversity goals.
“I admire Brian. He handles the good and bad quite well,” said Doug Baker, the longest serving Target board member and former Ecolab CEO. “I think Target has been fortunate to have Brian as CEO.”
The timetable allows Cornell to oversee one last holiday retail season, the most important period of the year for retailers.
“As Michael and I have for several years now, when he was in the CFO role and now in his current chief operating role, we’ll work side by side during the holiday season to make sure that we get off to a very seamless transition at the start of the year and importantly to drive and improve performance throughout the holiday season,” Cornell said.