Brian Cornell - Target Ceo

Brian Cornell (born c. 1960) is an American businessman. Cornell serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Target Corporation.

Early life

Brian Cornell was born in 1960 in Queens, New York City. Cornell grew up in a fatherless household from the age of six, and his mother was living on welfare due to heart disease. As a result, Cornell was mostly brought up by his maternal grandparents. Cornell worked menial jobs as a teenager.

Cornell graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1981. Cornell graduated from the Executive Program at the UCLA Anderson School of Management in 1991.

Business career

Cornell served as the Chief Marketing Officer and the Executive Vice President of Safeway Inc., from 2004 to 2007.

Cornell served as the CEO of Michaels from 2007 to 2009, the CEO of Sam's Club from 2009 to 2012., and the CEO of PepsiCo Americas Foods, a subsidiary of Pepsico, from 2012 to 2014.

Cornell served on the Board of Directors of OfficeMax, from 2004 to 2007, and of The Home Depot, from 2008 to 2009. Cornell serves on the Board of Directors of Centerplate and Polaris Industries.

On August 12, 2014, Cornell replaced Gregg Steinhafel as the Chairman and CEO of Target. Cornell's leadership style is at once data-driven and hands-on. During his tenure, Cornell has shut down the loss-incurring Canadian presence known as Target Canada (formerly owned by Zellers). Cornell has hired many outsiders to update the corporate culture. Cornell occasionally visits Target stores and asks customers specific questions about their shopping experiences.

LGBT activism

As Target CEO, Cornell has advocated for LGBT rights through a 2016 policy he put in place allowing transgender individuals to use the restroom that correlates with their gender identity. Cornell's policy announcement led to a boycott of Target by the American Family Association,.

Academic support

Cornell serves on the Board of Visitors of the UCLA Anderson School of Management. In November 2006, Cornell gave the commencement address.

References

External links

• Target: Brian Cornell, Chairman & CEO
• Youtube: Commencement 2015 Keynote: Brian Cornell, CEO of Target