The Target Corp. C-suite is on the move.
After Michael Fiddelke advanced from chief financial officer to chief operating officer in February, other top executives saw their roles shift Tuesday.
Christina Hennington, who is currently chief growth officer, is now also chief strategy officer. And Rick Gomez, chief food, essentials and beauty officer, is becoming chief commercial officer, overseeing the retailer’s merchandising. Both changes become effective on July 7.
Meanwhile, Lisa Roath, Target‘s chief marketing officer, will become chief merchandising officer of food, essentials and beauty early next year. A search is underway for the company’s next chief marketer.
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Brian Cornell, who has been chair and chief executive officer at Target for nearly a decade, said: “As we execute our 2024 plans and look to the future, we’re putting key leaders and capabilities in place to sustain profitable growth over the long term. Today’s announcement builds on our January appointment of Michael Fiddelke to chief operating officer and will further accelerate progress on our growth initiatives.
“As Rick takes on full oversight of merchandising, Christina will be dedicated to keeping our strategy consumer-centric, differentiated and future-focused,” he said.
In September 2022, Cornell committed to remain CEO of Target for about three additional years, extending his stay at the top beyond the traditional retirement age of 65.
With just over a year left in that timeline, the retailer enters what could be a crucial period of transition in what has been a difficult market.
Target is still very much an industry leader, with plans to add $50 billion in sales and 300 new stores over the next decade.
But while the company’s much bigger competitor Walmart Inc. has used its massive grocery business to drive shoppers toward its other products, Target is working with a smaller base and is trying to regain its traction in apparel.
Target’s comparable sales in apparel were down in the first quarter, but saw some significant improvement from the fourth quarter with a strong collaboration with Diane von Furstenberg and momentum in its All In Motion and Wild Fable private brands.
Now at least some of the C-suite crowd looking at fashion and the other businesses are Target will be seeing it all from a new vantage point.
As chief strategy and growth officer, the company said Hennington would “work closely with Cornell, Fiddelke and the rest of Target’s leadership team to build on the retailer’s roadmap for growth.”
She will also “play a critical role in supporting the organization as it continues to evolve and modernize how it operates, including harnessing the role of technology and generative AI to enhance the working and shopping experience at Target.”
And as chief commercial officer, the company said Gomez “will have full oversight of Target’s merchandising business, including its apparel and accessories, home, hardlines, food, essentials and beauty product categories, owned brand sourcing and design and merchandising planning and capabilities.”
“Under Gomez’s leadership, Target will continue to lean into its well-established authority in merchandising, flexing its multicategory assortment to meet the evolving wants and needs of current and prospective guests with speed and agility across its commercial businesses,” the company said.
Both Hennington and Gomez report to Cornell.
