
Photo credit: Target
Michael Fiddelke is Targetโs newly minted CEO, stepping into the role after years as its CFO and COO and replacing long-time CEO Brian Cornell. All that experience in Targetโs executive suite (20 yearsโ worth) gives him knowledge weapons few managers can mobilize to control how the brand navigates inflation, competition, and shifting consumer behavior. His macro-influence comes from Targetโs role as a trendsetter. When Target leans into any category, from home goods to private-label brands, competitors scramble to adjust. And because the company sits between Walmartโs scale and Amazonโs speed, Fiddelkeโs decisions help define what the โmiddle of the marketโ looks like for millions of shoppers. Fiddelkeโs steering Target through a major modernization push that includes store redesigns to digital fulfillment to new partnerships that reshape how people buy products.