Two of Target’s top executives, COO John Mulligan and Chief External Engagement Officer Laysha Ward, announced their retirement plans.
Mulligan will remain with the company until February 2024, when he will transition from COO to strategic advisor through February 2025. Ward will transition to a strategic advisor role through April 2024.
“On behalf of the entire Target team, I want to thank John and Laysha for the tremendous impact they’ve had on our team and business during their impressive careers with the company,” said Brian Cornell, chair and CEO. “I look forward to working closely with John until his retirement in 2025 and appreciate the important role he’ll play in setting his successor up for success, and I wish Laysha the very best as she prepares to embark on her next chapter.”
Mulligan joined Target in 1996 as a financial analyst. During his tenure with the company, he has held various leadership positions in finance, digital and human resources, which included his time as Target’s CFO from 2012 to 2015. Notably, Mulligan served as interim president and CEO of Target in 2014 before Cornell joined the company. Target promoted Mulligan to COO in 2015, and has “played a critical role in the successful rollout of Target’s stores as hubs strategy and has been a driving force behind developing and evolving the organization’s fulfillment options, including Order Pickup/Drive Up and same-day delivery services,” the company reported.
“As I prepare to retire next year, I want to start by saying thank you to the Target team, particularly our operations, store and supply chain team members. I’m humbled by the opportunities I’ve had to help grow Target into a Fortune 50 company, fortified by a long-term, durable growth strategy,” said Mulligan. “By maintaining a relentless focus on our guests, we continue to show what it looks like to adapt to meet evolving needs and a constantly changing retail landscape, all while delivering a sense of joy that’s uniquely Target. And what’s even more rewarding is the confidence I have that the best is still to come for this incredible brand.”
The company will share additional information on its succession plans for Mulligan before his official retirement.
Ward began her career in 1991 as a frontline employee at Marshall Field in Chicago, where she worked as the store’s community captain and realized her “career-long passion for the positive impact businesses and their employees can have on the communities around them.” She spent more than two decades leading corporate responsibility and the Target Foundation. During that time, she helped pioneer Target’s partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and established St. Jude Target House I and II, providing free housing and support to families receiving in-patient cancer treatment. She also led Target’s $1 billion pledge toward education.
Ward has been honored with numerous accolades over the course of her career, including the appointment in 2008 by President Bush to the board of directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service (now known as AmeriCorps), on which Ward served as the board chair under the Obama Administration.
“First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude. It has been a great privilege to grow alongside the Target brand and team for 32 years, as we’ve expanded from $9 billion in annual revenue and fewer than 500 stores to more than $100 billion and nearly 2,000 stores,” said Ward. “This has been a shared journey of purpose, meaningful relationships and sustainable impact for our business and the community, filled with lessons I will carry with me in service to others.”
Target also announced that Matt Zabel had been named chief corporate affairs officer. Zabel will report to Cornell.
The retailer also promoted Kiera Fernandez to executive vice president and chief community impact and equity officer, and is a member of Target’s leadership team, reporting to Zabel. Fernandez assumes external stakeholder engagement in her new role and oversees the company’s DEI strategy and corporate philanthropy efforts.
Photos courtesy Target
