Target Announces a CEO Switch

What happened: After months of declining sales, Target announced the departure of its CEO, Brian Cornell, which will occur in February 2026. The store named Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke, who started as an intern with Target over 20 years ago, as his replacement.

Long gone are the loyal shoppers who coined the store with the fancy nickname of “Tarzhay.” Consumers chose Target as an upscale experience to other big box stores, such as Walmart, because of unique promotions and products, including fashion-forward clothing collaborations with Missoni and Kate Spade and Diane von Furstenburg, at approachable prices.

But like many other department stores, sales began slowing as inflation hit the U.S several years back. That combined with the company’s DEI rollbacks, which caused a boycott from its progressive consumer base, has stalled sales and dropped stock prices.

Communication takeaways: Plenty of companies conduct a CEO switch when the company’s economics take a prolonged nosedive. However, does a CEO switch really work to energize a brand’s audience? Or is it more to appease investors rather than the general public? PR pros certainly have their work cut out for them when such change occurs.

Seth Linden, President & Partner at Dukas Linden Public Relations, says it’s very early to make any predictions, but that the move of promoting an insider like Fiddelke seems to be a return to culture for Target.

“The institutional memory and cultural fit could be additive, but it clearly is a more competitive retail market post-pandemic, so Target needs to provide an enhanced customer experience to be profitable and top of mind,” Linden says. “A CEO who truly ‘grew up’ in the Target organization and understands the culture can be successful. But it’s also about the math—and the numbers will clearly tell the story—but there’s reason to be optimistic.”

However, Linden notes, Target needs to do a lot more than just name a new CEO for a real turnaround—and it needs to address several groups of stakeholders including customers AND investors.

“The investor and analyst community certainly care deeply about the management structure and operational efficiency, and pay attention to financial media,” he says. “But the average Target consumer is much more focused on retail pricing power, quality of goods and quality customer service. It’s as much about social media and word of mouth, as it is traditional media. It boils down to, ‘Was my shopping experience a good one.