• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer, February 11, 2026

Just days into his tenure as CEO, Michael Fiddelke is moving quickly to reshape Target’s leadership ranks, promoting two longtime executives while confirming the departures of two senior leaders. The company also said it has launched an external search for a new CMO, consolidating the role into a combined chief guest experience and marketing officer position.

Target additionally confirmed another 500 layoffs, following last fall’s reduction of roughly 8% of its corporate workforce. The retailer said the cuts are intended to redirect investment toward store operations and frontline staffing.

Cara Sylvester, who previously served as chief guest experience officer, has been named chief merchandising officer, succeeding Jill Sando, who is retiring. Lisa Roath will become chief operating officer, moving from her most recent role overseeing merchandising for food, essentials, and beauty.

Rick Gomez, Target’s chief commercial officer, is leaving the company. Both Gomez and Roath previously held the CMO title, making the latest executive shuffle a notable reset of the retailer’s marketing leadership structure.

When Fiddelke replaced Brian Cornell, who continues as board chairman, the move drew criticism from the investment community, questioning the wisdom of appointing a Target “lifer” at a moment when the retailer’s woes were multiplying.

But others see this reshuffling of insiders as positive. Barron’s quotes Jefferies analyst Corey Tarlowe, who calls the new lineup as “directionally positive” for the company.

“While initial investor concerns centered on the risk that an internal CEO appointment could perpetuate the status quo, we believe the refresh of C-suite roles meaningfully improves execution potential and injects renewed strategic momentum into the organization,” he wrote.

The retailer has been fighting a prolonged stretch of weak sales, pressured by softer consumer spending, internal merchandising challenges, and lingering backlash tied to its DEI policy shifts, which sparked boycott calls and criticism from many Black and LGBTQ consumers.

In recent weeks, Target stores around the country, but especially in the Minneapolis area, have become flashpoints following widely circulated videos showing federal immigration enforcement activity. Separate images of Gregory Bovino, the federal official overseeing operations inside a Target store, generated intense backlash online and across news coverage. Many critics characterized Bovino’s attire as Nazi-era — a comparison that rapidly gained traction on social platforms and helped fuel protests that later spilled into Target locations.

Those demonstrations, along with organized disruptions and widespread prank orders of salt (to “melt” ICE), created operational headaches for some stores. Target has not addressed the controversy directly, and the company has issued only limited public comment on the protests themselves.

The leadership overhaul and continued workforce reductions highlight the degree of difficulty confronting Target’s new CEO, who inherits not only operational and merchandising issues but a stream of external controversies no retailer can easily manage.