This executive could become the next CEO of Target with Brian Cornell expected to retire

Some signs indicate that Michael Fiddelke, Target’s chief operating officer who has been with the company for more than two decades, may be Cornell’s heir apparent. In May, the company said Fiddelke would lead an “enterprise acceleration office” to drive speed and agility across the company by simplifying cross-company processes and using technology and data in new ways.

For most of 2024, he served in two key leadership roles concurrently. He served as CFO until January 2024, when he was named chief operating officer while also juggling the role of CFO until the company hired former PepsiCo deputy CFO Jim Lee for the position in September.

“It is definitely the feeling of most that Fiddelke is next in line,” Jacob Aiken-Phillips, vp of equity research for Melius Research, said in a LinkedIn message.

As COO, Fiddelke already oversees the company’s almost 2,000 stores, its supply chain network, its fulfillment services, as well as the teams that build and remodel Target’s stores and other facilities, according to the company. The company also elevated Fiddelke through a new podcast this year in which he interviews Target leaders — so far, he has spoken with Los Angeles district senior director John Favilla in May and Mary Beth George, vp of retail brand experience, in June.

Fiddelke is already a key leader

These moves signal the company is placing trust in Fiddelke to steer its direction moving forward during a key moment.

“It builds off Michael’s over 20 years of experience in different roles at Target,” Cornell said in an interview with the Star Tribune at the company’s downtown Minneapolis headquarters in June. Cornell declined to comment on succession planning but praised Fiddelke throughout the 40-minute meeting, according to the newspaper. “He’s been in HR. He’s been in store operations. He’s had roles in merchandising. He was our CFO. So it gives him a great background to understand the total company.”

Fiddelke said on a call with analysts in May that through the new growth office, he would partner with leaders across the country to “more boldly” harness the power of technology and AI.

“As a natural extension of our roadmap for growth, our priority will be enabling more efficient and cost-effective ways to work,” Fiddelke said at the time. “This work goes beyond improving efficiency and includes finding ways to use assets more effectively and more intentionally prioritizing the work of our team, allowing them to move faster than we have in the past.”

Last year, Target introduced an AI virtual assistant as an app on team members’ devices to answer questions, coach new and seasonal team members, and support store operations management. Fiddelke also said the company has more technology projects in the works to modernize and streamline inventory management and allocation processes to support long-term growth.

In a 2024 Q&A for the company alongside his COO appointment, Fiddelke said his leadership approach is a combination of curiosity and listening.

“I try to draw out the voice that I think a conversation needs, even if it’s not there,” Fiddelke said in the post. “We talk so much about the power of an inclusive culture, but that power only happens if you hear those diverse perspectives and create an environment of trust where it can help shape the decision-making.” Note that this language preceded the company’s pullback of some diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives this year.

The company is searching for growth after reporting net sales of $23.8 billion for the three months ending May 3, down 2.8% from the same quarter a year ago. It has had several underwhelming quarters with declining or near-flat sales year over year.

“I really do think that action is required, because with each successive quarter, with each successive measurement period, the numbers just aren’t getting better, and the gap between them and Walmart is getting bigger, not smaller,” said Scott Benedict of Benedict Enterprises, a retail consultant and former buyer for Walmart and other retailers.

A Target spokesperson said the company doesn’t have anything to share on succession planning.

Analysts say change is needed

Benedict also said that, to him, Fiddelke looks like the most logical candidate. He added that whoever comes in would have to have a degree of urgency in turning the business around, and that they could effectively do that by creating a team of internal and external talent.

“Who he would bring in as part of the leadership team is probably as much of the story as the person who takes Brian’s office,” Benedict said. “There are more things challenging Target’s performance right now than any one person can solve.”

Benedict said the retailer should focus on operations — making sure the stores are fully staffed and well-merchandised — as well as offering upscale products and designs at value prices, which the company has used to differentiate itself with in the past.

“If you can have an effort that’s led by someone who already knows the company, and then they create and round out a leadership team with new ideas and new voices and new perspectives from outside, that’s the perfect combination of things,” Benedict said. “The leader is already familiar with their organization and with the levers of activity in the company, and then you bring in fresh perspectives in that leadership team. … That’s probably the ideal one-two punch.”

Mickey Chadha, a retail analyst and vp of corporate finance for Moody’s, agreed, saying that the next CEO will have to take a deep look into what they want Target to be, how to address common critiques and how they position the company against competitors that didn’t exist five or six years ago.

“I’ve heard anecdotally that they don’t have enough cashiers and the checkout lines are longer, the help on the floor is not what it used to be, and they’ve had issues with shrink a lot,” Chadha said. “These things put off consumers.”

Jeff Sward, founding partner of retail consultancy Merchandising Metrics, added that while he places some responsibility on the top management, he would also direct the blame to people at the merchandising manager, buyer and planner levels. He said that when walking through stores, he finds the kids’ section has color, fun and energy, and others like men’s are dull and boring.

“I see real disparity between what I would consider to be the quality of the storytelling and the presentation in the different departments. … I could make the case that they could have some kind of eureka moment and gather the teams individually and say, ‘Guys, clearly, this isn’t working. What are we going to do here?’” Sward said. “Either Mr. Cornell has to do that, or a new CEO has to come in and do that.”