Brian C. Cornell (born c. 1958) is an American businessman, and the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Target Corporation. He is also non-executive chairman of Yum! Brands.
Early life
Brian Cornell was born in 1958 in Queens, New York City. He grew up in a fatherless household from the age of six, and his mother was living on welfare due to heart disease.[1] As a result, Cornell was mostly brought up by his maternal grandparents.[1]
Cornell graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1981.[2][3] Cornell attended the UCLA Anderson School of Management, attending in 1991.[2][3]
Career
Cornell was the chief marketing officer and an executive vice president of Safeway Inc., from 2004 to 2007.[3][4]
Cornell was the CEO of Michaels from 2007 to 2009, CEO of Sam's Club from 2009 to 2012,[1] and CEO of PepsiCo Americas Foods, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, from 2012 to 2014.[3][4]
Cornell was on the board of directors of OfficeMax, from 2004 to 2007, and of The Home Depot, from 2008 to 2009.[3] Cornell has been on the board of Centerplate and Polaris Industries.[5][3] Cornell has been on the board of directors of Yum! Brands since September 2015.[6] He is the chairman of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, and a board member since 2015.[7][8]
In August 2014, Cornell replaced Gregg Steinhafel as the chairman and CEO of Target.[4] Cornell's leadership style is at once data-driven and hands-on.[1] During his tenure, Cornell has shut down the loss-incurring Target Canada.[1] Cornell has hired many outsiders to update the corporate culture.[1] Cornell occasionally visits Target stores and asks guests about their shopping experiences.[1] As CEO, Cornell has been praised by outlets such as CNN, describing him as Target's "ace CEO" and crediting him with the business' strong growth in the 2010s.[9] In 2019, Cornell was named CNN's "Business CEO of the Year".[10]
Cornell was honored with "The Visionary" award by the National Retail Federation for 2022, given each year to "an outstanding retail industry leader".[11]
Academic support
Cornell is on the board of visitors[12] of the UCLA Anderson School of Management.[2] He is on the board of directors for Catalyst[13] and the museum council for the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.[14]
Personal life
He is married to Martha Cornell. They have a daughter and a son.[15]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Wahba, Phil. "Target Has a New CEO: Will He Re-Energize the Retailer?". Fortune. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Who's Who: Board of Visitors". UCLA Anderson School of Management. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT:New York): Brian C. Cornell". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
- ^ a b c Loeb, Walter. "Target's New CEO Brian Cornell Lacks Innovative Pizzazz". Forbes. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
- ^ "Investor Relations: BOARD OF DIRECTORS". Polaris. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
- ^ "Target CEO Brian Cornell joins Yum! Brands board". www.bizjournals.com. September 18, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- ^ "Brian Cornell". Target Corporate. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- ^ "Target CEO named chairman of RILA". Retail Dive. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- ^ Meyersohn, Nathaniel (September 7, 2022). "Target's ace CEO isn't leaving anytime soon | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
- ^ La Monica, Paul (December 18, 2019). "Target's Brian Cornell is the top CEO of 2019". CNN. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
- ^ "Target CEO Brian Cornell Named The Visionary 2022". RIS News.
- ^ "About the Department". UCLA Econ. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- ^ "Board of Directors". Catalyst. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- ^ "Leadership". National Museum of African American History and Culture. January 4, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- ^ "Target's new boss a 'sensible choice'". Star Tribune. August 1, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2019.