Who is Target’s next CEO, Michael Fiddelke?

Target Corp. on Wednesday named Michael Fiddelke as its new chief executive, promoting the company veteran who has served as chief operating officer since January 2024.

Fiddelke, 49, will succeed Brian Cornell, who led the Minneapolis-based retailer for 11 years through a period of significant growth and recent challenges.

The promotion will take place in February, after the all-important holiday season, when Cornell will transition to executive board chair.

Yes, the succession has been widely anticipated after Target reorganized its leadership structure in May, giving Fiddelke additional responsibilities overseeing the company’s newly formed Enterprise Acceleration Office aimed at improving operational efficiency.

The company also announced in May that Christina Hennington, former chief growth officer and potential CEO contender, would depart.

“It is clear that Michael is the right leader to return Target to growth, refocus and accelerate the company’s strategy, and reestablish Target’s position as a leader in the highly dynamic and fast-moving retail environment,” said Christine Leahy, lead independent director of Target’s board, in a news release.

Fiddelke started in 2003 as a finance intern and then moved up through the ranks, serving in positions in finance, merchandising, human resources and operations. Before being promoted to chief operating officer, he was chief financial officer from 2019 to 2024. He also had served as senior vice president of operations. He sits on the board of Target subsidiary Shipt, a same-delivery service acquired by the retailer in 2017.

Fiddelke has a good reputation among many analysts and co-workers.

Mike Logan, the president and CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber, worked on the Target corporate staff for more than 13 years. Logan left Target in 2011 but knows Fiddelke well.

“I’ve known Michael Fiddelke for over two decades and can say with great confidence that he is inquisitive, thoughtful and cerebral, but most importantly he’s personable and cares about empowering his team,” Logan wrote in an email.

Fiddelke said in a Target post when he was promoted to chief operating officer that he grew up on a farm in Manchester, Iowa, about 50 minutes west of Dubuque, Iowa. “It was a small farm, but my dad made sure I had chores to do every morning before I headed to school. That’s where the work ethic set in,” he said.

He received a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from University of Iowa in 1999, and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 2004.

The average age for a Fortune 500 CEO in 2024 was 57, according to Madison Trust Co. Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is 41. Cornell was 55 when hired as the chief executive of Target. Bob Ulrich, Target’s longest-serving CEO who’s credited with developing the retailer’s brand and seeing it through massive expansion, took over at 43.

He lives in the Twin Cities suburbs with his family.

Dianne Krizan, president of the Minnesota Children’s Museum, said Fiddelke makes his family his top priority and also enjoys camping. Fiddelke served on the museum board for several years and was chair at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though Fiddelke’s nine-year board tenure ended last year, Krizan said, he’s remained accessible, serving as a mentor and helping navigate museum challenges over regular coffees. “He’s just warm and humble, and he’s just a really, really good person,” she said. “He’s your next-door neighbor.”

According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday, Fiddelke’s new pay package as CEO hasn’t been approved by Target’s board of directors yet but is expected to be approved in the next few days and disclosed in an additional SEC filing.

In a 2024 post by Target alongside his COO promotion, Fiddelke said it’s 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,” he said. “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.”